


Fairies, Misfits & Little Brats

by quietmoon



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Found Family, Humor, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-07
Updated: 2014-01-12
Packaged: 2020-07-08 04:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 36,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19863475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quietmoon/pseuds/quietmoon
Summary: As a closet romantic, Lucy will admit she's not exactly immune to heroic gestures of passion from the odd prince or two. However, just to clarify, reckless pink-haired idiots who give her concussions do not fit into that category (or at least, that's what she keeps telling herself)."The heart wants what the heart wants. No-one ever said it had good taste."





	1. Morning, Princess

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is discontinued. There will be no new chapters.

_walking that mile and faking that smile,_  
_all the while wishing my heart had wings._

The first thing Lucy is aware of when she returns to consciousness is that her head is trying its hardest to explode. She can't even muster the energy to groan, so she just lies still for a bit and wallows in self-pity, trying her hardest to ignore the newly-discovered skull-splitting headache. 

She wonders idly if this is what a hangover feels like. 

Doing her best to not panic over the fact that she may or may not have gotten wasted for the first time in her life, she screws her eyes shut, trying her hardest to remember. The fact that everything isn't clear makes her wonder just _how_ much alcohol she ended up (presumably) consuming. 

Ugh. Alcohol. The thought alone makes her stomach flip; she feel her stomach tense reflexively, trying to quell the sudden urge to throw up. It takes a few moments to become aware of the muscled arm draped across her waist, of the warm legs entangled with hers, of the heat that seems to be enveloping her— 

Oh God, no. 

Lucy's eyes snap open to be met with a chest — a hard, toned, _muscular_ chest. 

Fuck. 

She keeps her gaze locked on the tan skin in front of her, too busy mentally screaming at herself to assess the situation, and too scared to look up for fear of finding out who on earth the owner of the obviously masculine chest is. 

What. _The hell._ Happened last night!? 

* * *

**{flashback to last night}**

"Lucy, we're seriously leaving without you if you don't hurry up!" 

The impatience in Gray's voice makes her grin. She's hardly late enough for him to be making such a fuss about it. 

"I'm just coming!" she calls through the open door of her bedroom, hastily stuffing whatever's in arm's reach into her purse and hoping that her phone, house-keys and wallet magically get caught up in the process. 

Glancing at the mirror one last time, she notes with a smile that she genuinely looks _good_ : her blonde hair — meticulously straightened — is tied up with a cute blue ribbon in her signature style; her silver sequinned top glitters under the shine of the bedroom light; the light line of eyeliner she took ten minutes applying accentuates her eyes just perfectly. 

She looks _hot_ tonight, thank you very much. 

"Lucy!" 

Gray's angry voice snaps her from her narcissistic reverie. She grabs her purse and jacket from the bed and runs out the room. 

Lucy's twin brother is standing at the front door tapping his foot impatiently and checking the time on his phone. He glances up when he hears her, and makes gestures with his arms as if to say 'hurry it up'. She giggles as she rushes down the stairs. 

"Okay, I'm ready!" she affirms, turning a full three-sixty when she reaches the foot of the staircase and meeting his amused smirk with a wink. "Looking good, right?" 

It's his turn to chuckle. "Sure," he says playfully, holding the front door open behind him. "Took you long enough. Now would you _please_ leave the house?" 

She rolls her eyes but skips through the doorway anyway, hearing the click of the lock as he exits behind her. A horn honks in greeting, and Lucy's lips stretch into a grin at the sight of the worn- down black pick-up truck. A tune with a deep beat plays obnoxiously through the rolled-down windows. The driver beckons her eagerly. 

* * *

**{return to present}**

She's brought back from the daydream as another wave of nausea rolls through her body, and she squeezes her eyes shut in an attempt to push it away. 

Oh, hell... Her head is _throbbing_. God _damn_. She couldn't possibly have drunk enough for it to hurt so badly, especially considering the suspicious lack of amnesia she knows from experience (...through Gray) is associated with hangovers. Last night is coming back to her a lot easier than it should to a girl who was absolutely hammered. 

But still, the idea of getting drunk for the first time in her life is... exciting! Or— more accurately, she doesn't know whether she should be proud or mortified. Or maybe she's just making too big a deal of it. Lucy Heartfilia got drunk; no big deal, right? Every seventeen year old is allowed to get drunk. Right? 

But what if she— she _broke her liver_ or something? What if she did something crazy? What if she spilled some deep dark secret to a stranger!? Gray's always telling her that getting drunk will only lead to situations that she'll regret, and she can certainly vouch for that; the evidence is currently snuggling her body to his and happily snoring away. 

Lucy takes a deep breath to steady herself whilst trying her best not to wake the boy hugging her to his body a bit too tightly for her liking. She can feel his firm abdomen rise and fall steadily, feel the heat of his breath in her hair as he exhales. She can even smell his scent; it's a combination of musk and... spice, maybe? 

All of a sudden, the arm around her tightens, pulling her closer to the chest of her mystery sleeping-partner. But before she can even panic, he breathes in deeply, sighs in his sleep, and goes back to his slumber with another tense of his arm. 

She keep my eyes screwed shut, not daring to look. Could this situation _be_ any more uncomfortable? 

Thank God she's wearing clothes. That's something at least. 

* * *

**{flashback to last night}**

"Hey!" Lucy laughs at the excited faces of her friends through, running around the monster of a vehicle to her usual spot behind the passenger's seat. Gray's not far behind her, and as soon as he slams the door shut behind him, they're off. 

"Hey, guys! Lu-chan, you look great!" She hears a high-pitched squeal from the passenger's seat. A powder-blue head is just visible over the headrest, small hands resting on the shoulders. She reaches behind her and turns the music down. 

"Levy," Lucy smiles."You good? Pumped for tonight?" 

She responds by poking her head to the side of the seat to give her characteristic wide-eyed grin. "You bet," she smirks. "I've got my secret plan, so I'm all set. It's gonna be great!" 

"Levy, f-face the front!" Levy ignores Lucy's questioning look, instead following the panicked order of her older sister, of whom Lucy can only see hands which are clutching the steering wheel tightly. She's not surprised at all though — when does Levy not have a plan? The girl thrives on the order than comes with organisation. 

The cobalt-haired boy sitting between her and Gray pokes her arm. "Levy's right, Lucy. You look awesome." 

She turns to give the middle sibling a smug smile. "I know," she say in a self-satisfied voice. 

"Modest as ever, Lucy," Gray cuts in sarcastically. 

She leans across and shoots him a light glare. "If Jellal says it, then it has to be true. Quit your whining." 

"He's only agreeing with Levy because it's the brotherly thing to do, you know." 

"Maybe you should take a page out of his book," she quips, giving him a challenging look. He laughs at the expression, also leaning in so they're both stuck in a scowling contest over their friend's torso. 

"Uh, guys," Jellal interjects in an uncomfortable voice. "Unwilling middle man here." 

Lucy looks up at Jellal's anxious face and giggles at his serious expression. "Calm down, we're not fighting. Gray loves me too much to be nasty to his adorable baby sister," she coos, laughing when said brother leans back, his scowl deepening. "Aw, Gway, don't you wuv me?" 

"Lucy," Jellal says, worried. "Don't tease the g-" 

A loud bang cuts him off, and all the passengers jump before turning in unison to stare at the driver questioningly. The car shudders for a second before starting up again and trundling along. 

"Uh... Juvia?" Jellal asks the driver, who keeps suspiciously silent, her cerulean curls hiding her face. 

"My fault, guys," Levy confesses. "I was working on it with Jellal earlier today, but the stupid thing" — she ignores Jellal's irritated _"Hey!"_ — "has a mind of its own." 

"Don't insult Pantherlily, he's a brilliant car!" the middle sibling pipes up in a moment of uncharacteristic indignation. 

"Juvia finds it amusing that Jellal calls his car a _he_ ," Juvia giggles, her voice sweet even when making fun of her younger brother. 

Gray shake his head in disbelief, chuckling at Juvia's expense. "But the fact that you refer to yourself in the third person is perfectly normal." 

Lucy smirk as Juvia tries her best to mask the reddening of her cheeks behind a determined expression. "J-Juvia thinks Gray-sama should worry about keeping his clothes on tonight and leave Juvia's speech alone," she mutters, her eyes locked to the road. 

The two other girls exchange amused looks at Juvia's blatant jealousy; Jellal just shakes his head tirely; and Gray sits up and attempts to catch the older girl's attention in the rear-view mirror. "What's that supposed to mean? I don't sleep around!" 

"Guys, I really don't think you should fight," Jellal mumbles weakly. Unsurprisingly, he is ignored by both of them. 

"J-Juvia doesn't mean that!" she squeals anxiously, typically overreacting to Gray. 

"What, so you think I'll just bed the first girl I see? I'm not some—" 

"That's not what Juvia meant! It's just that G-Gray-sama sometimes—..." She trails off stupidly, looking stricken. 

There's an awkward silence as a clueless Gray looks around at everyone's knowing expressions. 

"Strip," Lucy supplies happily. Jellal throws heran exasperated look as Gray splutters and Juvia launches into a heartfelt apology. "Well, it's true," she defends myself, sticking her tongue out at Jellal. "Time and place mean nothing to the pervert. That's why so many people are always trying to pick a fight with him, you know. It's just as well he's got a cool head..." She pauses, glancing back at him and his nonsensical reaction. "Most of the time." 

Jellal is about to answer when he realises that Gray and Juvia are still going at it, the latter paying more attention to the former than the steering wheel. "Juvia, watch the road!" 

She ignores him, looking pleadingly at Gray's reflection in the rear-view mirror. "Gray-sama, Juvia is sorry! She shouldn't have said anything!" 

Gray settles for glaring at the back of her seat broodingly. "You all treat me like I'm some crazy nudist." 

She rolls her eyes as Juvia sets off into another stumbling apology and Jellal panics even more about their current safety. Levy is strangely silent, but a glance at her grinning face going to and fro between her siblings tells Lucy she's simply enjoying how flustered Gray can get them. Lucy indulges in a smile, leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes. The night breeze coming through the open window really does feel lovely. 

Another even louder bang from the exhaust pipe startles her from her thoughts and shuts everyone up. A grating sound follows, and her heart sinks. Oh no. No no no no, no. In her head, Lucy begs Pantherlily to keep moving, but despite her mental urging, the truck slowly drives to a halt. It gives up on them entirely with a sassy _bang_ from the engine. 

She decides the vehicle really has _way_ too much attitude. 

* * *

**{return to present}**

After that, the memories fly back at breakneck speed — the breakdown; Levy and Jellal absolutely clueless as to what to do; Gray, Juvia and Lucy sitting dumbstruck in the truck; and a humiliated Levy finally resorting to calling some guy from her weekend mechanics course to come help. What was his name again? 

She struggles to remember, recalling her friend's numerous curses as she dialled the number. 

* * *

**{flashback to last night}**

"Did he finally call back?" Lucy asks as a scowling Levy clambers back into the truck. She glances back at her, gives a curt nod, and goes back to glowering at the dashboard. 

They sit in awkward silence, waiting for more information. Even Gray has the common sense to keep his mouth closed. She takes her time, but Lucy can pretty much see the frustration force her to breaking point, and eventually she turns around again with a deep breath, looking ready to murder someone. 

"The nerve of that douche-bag!" Levy cries furiously, digging her hands into her hair. "He doesn't bother answer the first two times, and when he finally calls me back, he spends the first minute just laughing at me. Just _laughing_! And when I told him where we were, he said he couldn't be bothered! And then he was all, can you do nothing right, _shrimp_?" — she starts making quotation marks in the air — "and when I told him we really needed his help, he was like ' _Nah_ , I'm hanging with people I actually like, I don't wanna _ruin_ the night'," — again with the fingers — "and I started getting angry, like, we'd be stuck out here if he didn't come, you know!?" 

Everyone nods simultaneously, not wanting to break her flow. "And then he's like," — she starts using a deep voice to mimic him — "'Maybe I'll send Natsu!' and before I can say another word, the _b-bastard_ hangs up on me!" 

She stops to breathe, but doesn't get a chance to resume her rant as Gray cuts in angrily. "What the hell? That idiot's coming!?" 

"Wait, you know him?" Jellal asks, surprised. "And he knows Gajeel? And, uh... actually, who is this we're talking about?" 

Gray's expression darkens further, and Levy turns away to glare at her seat with acute ferocity. Jellal knows better than to try get an answer our of her, so he turns to Juvia, who shrugs, looking as bewildered as he does. They both turn to Lucy for shakes my head, at a loss. She knows of Gajeel thanks to Levy's constant complaining, but who the hell is this Natsu guy? 

She puts the question to Gray only to trail off after sensing the same murderous aura surrounding him as Levy. "Okay. You two are acting downright _weird_." 

"Lu-chan, you don't understand," Levy says darkly. "They're a bunch of lunatics." 

Gray nods furiously, imploring her to understand with challenging eyes. She raises an eyebrow in response. "Gray, how do you even know Nalu?" 

"Natsu," he spits out. "Fucking idiotic, hot-tempered, moronic, dim-witted, numb-skulled, brain- dead bastard." 

Lucy blinks, a little blindsided. "R-Right..." 

This time, it's Levy's turn to nod, and she does it so vehemently her hair-band slips forward a bit, causing some hair to fall over her eye. "Like, if you consider Gajeel hot-headed, Natsu's brain is a — a _volcano_ or something. He's insane, Lu-chan." 

"Who even is this guy?" She's still taken aback my Gray's outburst — it's not in his character to be so aggressive, and to an absolute stranger at that... "He can't be so bad that you can call him brain- dead." 

Gray watches her with accusatory eyes as if it to say ' _I thought you were meant to be on my side_ ' as Levy backs him up. "He hangs out with Gajeel, for crying out loud. Doesn't that just scream trouble?" 

"I... know you don't like the guy, Levy, but I still don't really get what's so bad about hi..." Lucy trails off at her friend's incredulous expression. She looks to Juvia for help, but she's watching Gray with concern; Jellal, however, catches her gaze with a calculating one of his own. 

"Both of them are coming to help?" Jellal asks, finally entering the conversation. Thank God for that. He's the calmest of his siblings — if there's any Loxar who can calm Levy down (maybe besides Wendy), it's him. 

"He's like, study partners with Gajeel or something." Just saying his name deepens Levy's scowl. "He's..." She shakes her head. "He's crazy, Lu-chan. You know he seriously tried eating fire once? He came to the garage once during classes — that's when Gray met him — and played with lighter fluid the whole time. I think he was trying to set fire to Gajeel's hair or something! He gives a whole new meaning to the word 'reckless'." 

Gray chuckles darkly. "In this case, that's not a bad thing. He'll probably die faster that way." 

"Oh, come on!" Lucy throws her hands up in exasperation, nearly slapping poor Jellal in the eye in the process. "Don't you guys think you're being a little ridiculous?" Before they can cut her off again, she continues quickly. "Levy, didn't Gajeel say he'd help us? It's not like he had to do that! And Gray, you've only met Nalu once— oh, Natsu, whatever, I'm _so sorry_ ," she corrects at Gray's growled correction. "This isn't like you two! You can't just judge people like that when you hardly know them. And yes, Levy, I know you've both had the same mechanics course for a few months, but that's two hours a week, so the point really doesn't stand." 

Lucy runs a hand through her hair, well into her tirade by now. Even Juvia's managed to tear her gaze from the older twin to give her an appreciative smile. "This is kind of— of _immature_. And judgemental, and overly defensive. First impressions aren't always right, you know? I-I just hope that when they get here, you guys can get over your misplaced hatred enough to at least thank them for..." 

She trails off, noticing Gray's odd expression. He isn't even looking at her, which is pretty damn rude if she says so herself. Instead, he's staring out the open window behind her. Jellal's doing the same with a similar expression, a mix of shock and deadpan humour, and if she's not mistaken— a hint of pink in his cheeks? 

She's about to turn around herself when the door she's leaning against suddenly opens, leaving her leaning on thin air. 

* * *

**{return to present}**

Lucy cringes at the memory, feeling heat crawl up her cheeks. In retrospect, it would probably have been a good idea to close the windows before going on a full-on rant about people expected to show up any minute. 

Smooth, Lucy. Real smooth. But at least that's the mystery of the headache gone. However, it doesn't relieve any of the tension in her belly to know that rather than raging drunk, she was concussed. And she's still a seventeen year old alcohol-poisoning-less loser. Which is just _great_. 

* * *

**{flashback to last night}**

Letting out a strangled cry, Lucy falls back out of the car onto the rough tarmac of the pavement below with an _oof_. Her head smacks hard against the ground, sending her reeling. Blinking, she tries to focus through the pain in her skull. "Wh-wha...?" 

Someone guffaws obnoxiously from above. "Shit, did you hear that thump?" a deep, somewhat gravelly voice chuckles. Her vision is too blurry to make out more than dark shapes in the twilight, but she doesn't recognise the voice. 

"Shut up, Gajeel!" Ah, there's Levy, sounding furious. "Lu-chan, are you okay? Lu-chan!" 

"Uh..." She doesn't really know. She still can't make out clear shapes but the pain's receding. Stupidly, Lucy tries to nod, but ends up groaning when she just bumps her head on the ground again. 

The gruff voice — the infamous Gajeel? — sounds gleeful as he makes a _geehee_ noise half-way between a taunt and a laugh. "What an idiot. Did she just try to nod? No wonder your friends are as stupid as you are, shrimp." 

Her temper spikes. "Watch your mouth, douche-bag," and _woah_ , did that just slip out of her mouth? Whoops. There goes the filter. So much for greeting them with thanks. But to Lucy's surprise, another boy starts laughing. She doesn't know his voice either, but as her vision clears, she can see him crouching down beside her. It's a nice voice... loud, but pleasant to listen to. She can't quite put her finger on it, but there's just something about it she likes. It's... _friendly_. 

"She must have bumped her head hard," the voice says. No, she means, he says with the voice. Wait, no, with _his_ voice, damn it. She blink repeatedly, resisting the urge to shake her head to clear it, and looks up at him. He's grinning and she notices that his canines are sharper than normal. 

"You have cute teeth," Lucy mumbles, her gaze fixed on his face. His eyes — dark and slanted, almost lizard-like — widen in surprise. 

"Are you... drunk?" he inquires. 

"I may be drunk on sidewalk," she speculates. "Are you Nalu?" 

"Oh my God," Gray mumbles in mortification somewhere above her. His muffled voice suggests to her that he's covering his face with a hand. She wonders why. "Natsu, Lucy. His name's Natsu." 

The lizard-boy glances up at Gray. Wait, ew. No. Not lizards. "What's scaly?" she finds herself asking. "Lizards are but I don't like them, and I need something scaly that I like, with pointy teeth and squinty eyes..." 

Someone suddenly grabs her waist and hauls her up. At this point, she also notices he has a distinctive smell. Something like... a mixture of spice and musky cologne. She likes it. 

"Lucy, huh?" Lizard-but-not- _lizard_ -boy chuckles; she starts when his breath tickles her neck. It's hot, and a little moist, and it induces a shiver. 

"You have magic breath," she mumbles, wincing at her throbbing head. All of a sudden, inspiration hits her like a brick ('cause her head really does hurt a lot) and she gasps accordingly. "You're a dragon!" 

Lucy looks around with a self-satisfied grin, proud to have come up with such a clever answer. It's weird to be at face level with everyone again. Juvia's got a hand on the shoulder of a fuming Gray, almost like she's holding him back; Jellal's expression is guarded; Levy's glaring at someone with enough fire to burn down a city. Lucy can't help but giggle at seeing such an intimidating expression on someone so small. 

"Get. Off. Her," Gray hisses challengingly to dragon-boy. He genuinely looks scary. 

"Excuse me?" It's the voice, the _nice_ voice, but with a dangerous tone that makes me want to shiver again. 

She frowns at the sudden proximity of her and dragon-boy — she's almost pressed up right against him. "Dragon-b— _I mean Nalu_ , I order you to let go of me," she says in a regal tone, looking what she's sure is very dignified. 

"Dragon...?" Before she knows it, he's twisted her in his arms so he can look at her properly. "What are you, a princess? And who the hell's Nalu, by the way?" 

"N-Natsu," Lucy corrects herself, surprised to see his grinning expression. So this is the reckless guy Gray hates so much? 

"Yes, Princess Lucy?" he asks teasingly, his smile morphing into a smirk — probably at her clueless expression, she realises. Her gaze wanders from his charcoal eyes to his hair, and she can't help myself. She giggles. 

"You have girl hair." 

"Hey!" His dark eyes widen again before settling into a light scowl. "Charming, aren't you?" 

"It's pink! You're _pink_." 

"I can't exactly help it, you know." 

"You're a giiirl dragon," she laughs, quoting Shrek with much glee. He just cocks an eyebrow at her. 

"Don't look at me like that. It's rude." 

His eyes flash with amusement. "You gonna stop me?" 

_"Yes."_

Before she can get her bearings on what's going on, before she reminds myself that Jellal, Juvia, Levy, Levy's arch-nemesis, her brother and who knows what else is watching, before she can even stand up on her own two feet alone, she do the first thing that comes to mind — Lucy raises one hand to his spiky salmon-pink hair, leans forward in his arms, and kisses that stupid smirk right off his face. 

* * *

**{return to present}**

"Hi." 

A male voice — a noticeably _nice_ male voice — brings her attention back to the present, and she feels the blood drain from her face as she realises who it belongs to. 

_Please, no._

She screws her eyes shut in an attempt to pass it off as a dream — please, please, _please_ let this not be real — but to her mortification, when she opens them, she is still lamentably in bed with a half-naked ( _please_ let him just be _half_ -naked) teenage boy. 

Lucy looks up as slowly and casually as she can get away with. dread joins the nausea coiling violently in the pit of her stomach; her gaze passes over the expanse of lightly-tanned skin taut across his broad shoulders, over his relaxed neck, his defined jaw, a sharp-toothed grin, dark slanted eyes, and — _she knew it_ — salmon-pink hair sticking up in all directions. 

Natsu chuckles deep in his throat. "Morning, princess. How's your head?" 

Well, shit. Gray is going to _murder_ her.

**{to be continued}**


	2. Gajeel Gets a Phone Call

_just because you learn to breathe underwater_   
_doesn't mean you ever shake the fear of being drowned._

**{last night}**

The sound of screaming startles Natsu awake. 

"What the hell...?" He lifts his head up, bleary-eyed and stiff-necked. He's laying on the tatty leather sofa in Gajeel's apartment, his head in a soft lap, his lower legs and feet dangling off the edge. The banshee that woke him up seems to be right under his ear. The boy leans up with one hand, looking up to be met with Erza's dry expression. 

She arches an eyebrow. "You fell asleep on me," she deadpans. 

"Your ass is screaming," he mumbles back, running a hand through his spiky pink hair and yawning as she rolls her eyes. Her long scarlet hair spills over her shoulder as she stands up, bumping him off her lap in the process. She fishes in the back pocket of her tight jeans for the vibrating cell-phone. 

"Ooh iyit?" Natsu asks through a yawn, raising his arms in a stretch. 

His _wonderful friend_ ignores him, glancing at the phone in her hand. "He sure has a unique taste in ringtones," she murmurs more to herself than to the half-asleep Natsu on the couch, examining the device with a speculative expression as it continues to buzz, shrieking like a special effect from a horror film. 

He snorts, standing up and leaning over her shoulder to check the caller ID. "Romeo probably changed it while Gajeel wasn't looking. Where is he, anyway?" He glances around and realise there's only him and Erza. 

It strikes him for the millionth time how surprisingly clean the tiny apartment is for a teenage boy who lives alone — especially for a slob like Gajeel. Were it not for the empty beer cans and pizza boxes strewn across the kitchen table, the interwoven wires of a game console under the tv, and the books peaking out from a backpack by the door — a telltale sign of a high-schooler — you wouldn't really be able to tell that he lived here at all. 

Erza flips the phone open, stares at the number impassively for a second, and quickly hangs up without answering. "I'm hungry so he went to find cake for me," she tells Natsu in a matter-of-fact way, tossing Gajeel's mobile back on the sofa. 

He nods, unperturbed; he knows well enough to not even bothering to mention that she's just as capable of cake-hunting as he is. As he sits back down on the sofa, the worn cushion gives under his weight, squishing down into the frame. Kicking off his shoes, Natsu curls up again with his head on the arm-rest and grins up at the red-head. "So... what d'you wanna do?" 

Erza throws her friend a weary look. "You are ridiculously lazy." She then delicately steps over the his tossed shoes on the floor and walks to the kitchen, electing to sit on one of the four tall stools by the table rather than fight for her spot on the sofa. 

They settle into a comfortable silence. 

One of the great things about Erza is that she manages to make the air around her comfortable. When she's around, it's easy to relax, and it doesn't surprise Natsu that he feels himself drifting again. Yawning, he snuggles into the soft material of the couch. All he hears is the ticking of the clock, and their steady breathing. Just one more quick nap, then he'll go home. He'll only close my eyes for a bit... 

Another scream in his ear makes him jump, fall off the sofa and land right on his ass. 

"Jesus Christ!" Natsu yells at the phone angrily. "Shut up!" 

He scowls at the stupid thing as it continues to light up. Erza murmurs something about not throwing a temper tantrum at the sight of him scrambling off the floor and making a grab for the phone. He's just about ready to throw it to the ground and stamp on it when the front door clicks open and in walks Gajeel. 

"Natsu, don't break my phone, you idiot," he says, half-exasperated, half-amused as he kicks the door shut behind him. 

The salmon-haired teenager glares at the newcomer. "Romeo changed your ringtone again. Keep a closer eye on your phone!" 

"Keep a closer eye on your brother," Gajeel defends himself dispassionately, shuffling towards the kitchen. He's laden with boxes, both big and small, and a sweet smell drifts towards Natsu. He sniffs, recognises the scent, and grins. 

"Nice choice," Erza compliments with a gleeful glint in her eye, already taking the box at the very top of the pile and opening it with a fork. 

As Gajeel dumps the rest on the already crowded kitchen table, Natsu reaches out for a box of his own. From the smell, he can tell it's something with strawberry in it — strawberry and whipped cream and toffee and chocolate and banana and fudge and rainbow sprink— 

"Quit drooling on my floor," Gajeel snaps at him, breaking him out of his temporary dessert- induced coma. The new arrival is standing in front of him, holding out an leather-clad hand. "Phone." 

Natsu would be lying if he said that Gajeel looked normal; the guy's got piercings running up both ears, eyebrows, even down the sides of his nose. But somehow, he manages to pull that off— that, along with the foot-long mane of black hair he's so proud of. His appearance and demeanour, coupled with his aggressive attitude and easy insults, don't make him the most approachable of Natsu's friends. 

But Natsu could totally take him in a fight. 

However, a second glance at the Gajeel tells him he's too busy grinning at an over-excited Erza flitting between boxes of cakes and tarts to pay any attention to being sized up. Natsu hands it to him and side-steps so he can get the sweet-smelling heaven of pastries on the table. 

"Who was it?" 

"Dunno. Some number." 

"Wow, thanks," the dark-haired boy says sarcastically, rolling his eyes and turning to walk into his 

room, presumably to call back. 

"Here to help!" Natsu calls behind him with a chuckle, and turns to choose from the buffet of deliciousness lying on the table in front of him. Just as he reaches for the box closest to him — it smells like a hearty banoffee pie — Erza mercilessly slaps his hand away. 

"Hey!" He holds his hand to his chest, nursing the stinging flesh. She doesn't even look up at the remark. "Erza?" 

She pauses in her chewing; her hair falls over one eye as she throws the boy a glower so threatening it stops him in his tracks. She's one of his best friends but damn, the girl's scary. "Mine," she pretty much snarls. 

Natsu stays still, staring wide-eyed as she gets back to work on her fifth helping, a soft yellow sponge with icing almost as red as her hair. The dark aura around her has almost dissipated when his stomach growls loud and clear. The sugary smell is making his mouth water, and he reaches forward again hesitantly. 

"Natsu," she says warningly, watching her friend with narrowed eyes. 

"Bu-But..." He pouts. " _Food..._ " 

"Go back to sleep, you're annoying me." 

"Erza! You're so mean!" 

"Mine." 

He whines, "Erza!" 

"No. My cake." She looks delighted as she inelegantly speaks through a big mouthful of lemon meringue pie. " _Mine_." 

"You're kidding, right?" She ignores him. "Erza, you're so greedy — so _mean_! How can you deny me food? I'm a growing boy, I need sustenance! Look," he insists, lifting up the hem of his shirt to reveal a six-pack, "I'm withering away to nothing!" 

She doesn't hesitate to hit him. 

Doubling over, Natsu wheezes as she happily returns to her plate. "Do-Doesn't hurt a bit," he chokes out, clutching at what has got to be a bruise. And then, for some unfathomable reason she slaps the back of his head. He inelegantly face-plants the linoleum tiles. 

"Natsu, what the hell are you doing?" Gajeel's snide voice brings his attention back to the situation at hand. _He needs cake._

"Gajeel!" he yells triumphantly into the floor, pain all but forgotten — who cares if he can't get up yet? "Help me get food! You hold her, I'll eat! We can take her, you and me! Teamwork's the way to go!" 

To Natsu's dismay, all he gets in reply is a "Shut up," and another giggle from Erza. 

"Gajeel, you traitor," the teenager mumbles weakly, wincing as he gets up on his knees. "Erza, I think you broke my stomach muscle." 

"You can't break stomach muscle, Natsu." 

"Well, you wouldn't know, would you?" 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"Nothing!" Natsu leaps up and brushes himself off. "Nothing at all! Did I say something, because I don't think I said something, did I say something, Gaje-" 

The pierced teen cuts him off without even sparing him a glance, having taken a seat at the far end of the table and now pulling the smallest of the boxes towards himself. "Natsu, go back to sleep. You're too loud." 

The rose-haired youth gapes at his 'friend'. He looks back at him innocently — or as innocently as someone like Gajeel can — and chews on what appears to be a _rye loaf_. 

"You're surrounded by all this and _that's_ what you choose?" He knew it. Gajeel's not human. 

"Geehee." Ignoring Erza's little outcry of " _mine_!" he takes a big bite out of the tough bread. "S'got lotsh" — he pauses, swallowing — "of iron. Good for building muscle, good for fighting disease." He bites another huge chunk out of the loaf. "Tashtes great, choo." 

Natsu stares at him, open-mouthed. "You're disgusting." 

"Gajeel, did you call back?" 

"Huh?" The youngest boy looks confused by Erza's question and Natsu snorts back his laughter; with his mouth full like that, Gajeel looks like some demented biker-bunny. Twisting into the seat beside him, the hungry teen cautiously reaches for a box. Erza isn't looking, so he's sure he can just— 

"Natsu." 

"Aye!" he yelps, dropping hishand under the table. She stares at him and he cowers under her gaze — so scary — but her face unexpectedly breaks into a fond smile, and she goes back to questioning Gajeel about the call. 

Natsu lets out a little sigh of relief before ripping the box open. He hopes it's a banana muffin, or wait, no, maybe a slice of toffee cake, or wait, maybe a banoffee pie! He eagerly grabs his prize out of the box and he's about to take a bite of the delicious sweet pastry when — wait, _what_? 

Gajeel casually reaches forward and takes the rye loaf out of Natsu's limp hand. "Yeah, I called back just now. Why?" 

"I recognised the number from somewhere. Who was it?" Natsu lifts his head from the table to glance at her in surprise. Erza's tone is oddly serious. 

Gajeel looks surprised. "You know it? It was some kid from Metalicana asking fo—" 

"What the hell's Metalicana?" Natsu interrupts, confused. 

Erza shoots him an irritated look as Gajeel shakes his head. "How you manage to be so stupid, I don't know," he remarks in bewilderment. 

"This coming from the guy who believes in ghosts?" the pink-haired boy shoots back. 

"Only a fool wouldn't believe in phantoms," Gajeel says in an offhand way, brushing the comment aside. "My Dad's garage, you idiot. You were there just a week ago!" 

Natsu shrugs, not remembering a thing. 

"You tried to set fire to the lubricating oil." 

Realisation dawns on him. "Oh, yeah... Heh, that was grea—" He snaps his mouth shut when he catches sight of Erza's impatient expression, and waves a hand in dismissal. "Nevermind. Do continue." 

Gajeel smirks. "Yeah, the shrimp wanted help with something." He shakes his head, looking exasperated. "I've never met someone so annoying." He glances at Natsu and seems to think that over. "Well, I say that, but—" 

Erza interrupts his thoughts with anticipation. "Shrimp?" she asks, looking oddly hopeful. 

Gajeel frowns in confusion. "Why so interested?" 

"I'm not." 

He shrugs. "Okay, then." 

Natsu glances in confusion from Gajeel, who looks bored, to Erza, who's pensively staring at the table like it holds the answer to all of life's questions. An awkward pause settles in the room until she breaks it again. "What colour is their hair?" 

"Huh?" the dark-haired teen says lamely. 

She sighs impatiently. "Hair," she repeats, holding some of her own scarlet locks in her fingers and brandishing it towards a confused Gajeel. "What colour is the shrimp's hair?" 

"Uh..." He stares at her, looking a bit apprehensive. "Blue?" 

Her eyes widen and she takes a sharp intake of breath. 

"Erza, everything okay?" 

"Of course. Why wouldn't it be? Everything's fine. It's fine, Gajeel, _it's fine_." 

"Uh... That's good?" He doesn't pursue it, seemingly decided that it's best to leave her to her thoughts, and is about to take another bite out of his bread when Erza starts again. 

"Well?" 

"Well what?" 

"Who is it?" she asks eagerly. "This 'shrimp' guy, who is he? What's he like? What does he look like? What's his name?" 

Gajeel blinks at her. "It's a girl." 

In any other situation, Natsu would have cracked up at the fiery-haired girl's flabbergasted expression, but right now, it doesn't really feel appropriate. 

"W-what?" 

"Yeah, Lenny or something. Blue hair, half my size, loud voice, annoying as fuck. She can't handle metal to save her life and has her nose stuck in a book half the ti—..." He trails off as Erza visibly deflates at his description. There's a painful silence as Natsu's charcoal eyes flit between 

the bewildered boy and the undeniably depressed girl. 

"What did she want?" he asks suddenly, hating the new lost look in Erza's eyes. She'd clearly been expecting someone else and Natsu almost doesn't want to ask who. She doesn't talk about her past often, and it's not hard to guess why. 

"Uh..." Gajeel hesitates, staring at Erza's unusually bleak expression. "Her car broke down or something. Thought I could help." 

"Can you?" 

He shrugs. "Probably. Don't mean I will, though." 

The three youngsters sit uncomfortably in the silence that follows, the boys not knowing where to look, Erza staring at nothing with an absent look on her face — she looks scared, like she's reliving some painful memory. Natsu doesn't know what to do but he knows he needs to do something because Erza is _not_ supposed to look that _vulnerable_. She's supposed to be strong and happy and frustratingly possessive over strawberry cake, not so disappointed, not so _sad_ — 

She abruptly stands up and he breathes in sharply. 

She blinks once, and shakes her head a little to clear her mind. It causes her hair falls over her eye again and she brushes it away impatiently before alternating a stare between her two friends. "Let's go." 

They simultaneously say, " _Huh_?" 

She's still got a hint of that broken expression left in her eye, but over-shadowing it is a dauntless determination that Natsu feels instantly weary of. And he can't help the guilt that blooms in his stomach, despite not knowing why it's there. 

"We're going to help your friend. There's no honour in ignoring the cries of those in trouble. Come on," she says matter-of-factly, standing up and pushing away her plate (which is empty save the breadcrumbs). "We will give them all we have to offer. No arguing, Gajeel." She wanders away from the table with a strong stride, her righteous words sounding very Erza-like and almost quelling Natsu's anxiety — _almost_. "Let's go, get ready. Where are my shoes?" 

"I—..." Gajeel says stupidly, still a bit befuddled by Erza's mood swings. "I would hardly call her my _friend_." 

Natsu can't help his smirk. "You'd hardly call us your friends." He jumps off the stool with recovered enthusiasm — as long as Erza's fine, everything's fine. He raps his knuckles on his buddy's head teasingly. "Skull so thick, nothing gets through. S'all the iron you eat, your bones are turning to steel." 

Gajeel throws his friend a dirty look. "You're not really one to talk, _hothead_. Didn't you try to eat fire once?" 

"The way I remember it, I didn't just _try_ —" 

"Boys!" Erza snaps. "Let's go! Gajeel, stop wasting time." 

Natsu smirks as the rebellious boy scrambles off the stool and starts stuffing his feet into his shoes. It's nice to see that even Gajeel can be bossed around a bit. Said teen catches Natsu's eye, and scowls. "Something funny?" 

"I don't know, Gajeel. _Is_ something fu—" 

"Natsu, hurry up!" 

"Aye!" he yelps,and tries his best to ignore Gajeel's cackling. 

"Real smooth, hothead," he sneers, leaning down to fix one of the lace-ups. 

Natsu shrugs on his soot leather jacket, unaffected. "What? Erza's scary." 

Gajeel scoffs. "She's just a gi—" 

" _Boys_!" They whip round and stare at the figure standing in the doorway. Erza definitely strikes an impressive figure; she's got her purse in hand, hand on hip, boots laced, coat zipped, and scarlet hair back in her face. Blowing her hair out of her eyes absent-mindedly, she eyes Gajeel fiercely before turning and _prancing_ out the door. 

"—...definitely terrifying. Whole different species," Gajeel amends, hurriedly pursuing Erza out of his apartment. Snickering, Natsu grabs the keys he left on the table in his haste, and follows suit. 

* * *

**{scene break}**

"Erza, did you really have to bring the cake?" 

"This," she remarks, holding up the small box she's eating out of, "is _strawberry_ cake." Her tone suggests that it's crazy to ask such a stupid question, and that it's perfectly reasonable to have six boxes piled up on her lap. Natsu watch dubiously as she pries the first one open and prepares to eat. 

"Why'd you have to bring it though? Just the smell of food while we're travelling is making me..." He presses a hand to his stomach, grimacing. " _Nauseous_." 

She rolls her eyes, piercing a slice with her fork. "It could have gone soggy." 

"That's what fridges were made for," he mumbles dejectedly, stomach churning. 

"What?" 

He groans. 

"Right." She lifts a forkful of dessert to her mouth, effectively halting the conversation. 

"Erza," Gajeel calls from the driver's seat, "I swear to God if you get some on the seat..." She ignores him, looking blissful with her face stuffed full. "Erza, seriously. This car isn't even mine — don't forget my dad doesn't know I'm using it. So for fuck's sake," he insists, starting up the engine as he scrutinises her through the rear-view mirror, "be careful." 

"Gajeel, you do know where we're going, right?" the salmon-haired boy asks, shuddering as the car pulls out onto the quiet road of downtown Magnolia. 

"Yeah, Shrimp gave me a couple directions before I hung up on her." 

"And you think you can get her car going?" 

"Are you kidding?" he exclaims, patting the case of tools on the passenger's seat almost reverently. "With these babies, there ain't nothing I can't fix." 

"Right," Natsu grins uneasily. "Although, I wish you'd let us walk instead of- _ah_!" The car suddenly swerves, and something in him somersaults. 

"Natsu..." Gajeel growls warningly, watching the older boy keel over onto the empty seat beside him in the rear-view mirror. "Don't you fucking dare." 

Natsu groans quietly, feeling hopelessly queasy. "The cake smells really..." 

_"Natsu..."_

He can feel the vehicle rumbling through the seat and it causes a whole new lurching in the pits of his belly. He groans again, louder, and squeezes his eyes shut. "Gajeel, can't you go a bit slower, p-please..." 

"We're going at fifteen an hour." Natsu can almost hear the driver rolling his eyes. "You fucking embarrassment." 

"He lasted for almost a minute before the sickness this time," Erza notes speculatively, having already emptied every box and now playing with the plastic fork thoughtfully. "It's a record." 

The car shudders again under Natsu's cheek and he moans shamelessly. "Gajeel! Slower..." The constant motion has the teenager keening like a dying animal. _"I'm gonna die..."_

"You're absolutely pathetic." 

Natsu can't even muster the energy to snap something back at him anymore, and instead elects for a very disgruntled whine. 

* * *

**{scene break}**

"Wooh!" The rose-haired youth stretches his arms above his head, his unusually sharp canines giving a wolfish quality to his wide grin. "Sure feels good to be on solid ground again. That was _torturous_! I wish I was a caveman; _they_ didn't have to deal with this stuff." 

"Moron," Gajeel mutters from behind him. Natsu turns to see his friend dragging his toolbox out of the car. "We were on the road for less than ten minutes." 

"That's ten minutes too long." 

"Or maybe you just need to grow a backbone." 

"What was that?!" 

"You wanna figh—" 

"Oi, knock it off!" Erza butts in, shutting them up effectively. Gajeel kneels and checks all of his tools are in place as she steps out of the car and takes in their surroundings with a frown. "Where are your friends, Gajeel?" 

"They ain't my friends," the black-haired boy mutters grumpily. Her frown deepens, a fact that doesn't go unnoticed by him. "She said they were right outside Magnolia Bakery, Erza," he sighs. "Maybe Shrimp finally got the car working or something, I don't know." He chuckles under his breath. "Though I doubt it very much." 

"Well, _it's_ right there," Natsu pipes up, gesturing with an arm to the shop window behind the scarlet-haired girl. 

"So where are they?" Sounding less than impressed, Erza turns and they both look around sceptically. "W-wait..." She suddenly freezes, her eyes wide. 

"What?" Natsu blink. 

"B... Bakery?" 

His eyes widen. "Erza, _no_." 

"I—..." She seems conflicted. "I... I'm going to go to the cake shop." 

"You just had six slices of strawberry cake!" He exclaims, outraged. "Besides, you can't abandon the mission halfway through!" 

"What _mission_?" Gajeel mumbles, still kneeling on the ground. 

"Look, I'll only be a couple minutes!" Erza insists, ignoring Gajeel completely. "Besides," she adds on guiltily. "I don't really need to be there, right? They don't know _me_." 

"You're a giver-uper!" Natsu scolds her. "I can't believe you." 

"I am not!" she cries, incensed. "I'll only get one slice anyway. Just look for them while I'm—" 

"—being a giver-uper." 

"Natsu, stop calling me that!" 

"Giver-uper, giver-uper, giver-uper, giv— _OW_!" He rubs his stinging forehead with gentle fingers. "You're so mean, Erza..." 

She rolls her eyes, looking like she's had enough. "Like I haven't heard that before." She spins round and makes her way to the door of the store behind her. "Gajeel, don't let Natsu do something stup—..." She trails off, glancing at her pink-haired friend. He sticks his tongue out at her grumpily. "Stupider than usual," she finishes lamely. 

Gajeel's groan is loud enough to sound over Natsu's whining. "Erza, I can't believe you're leaving me with him!" 

"Hey!" Natsu glares at the younger boy indignantly. "I'm a great teammate, you jerk!" 

"Shut up and act your age." 

"Don't tell me to shut up!" 

"Shut up. Come on." 

"Gajeel, you're meaner than Erza."

**{to be continued}**


	3. Shrimp and the Gang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, it's kind of ridiculous how much unneeded thought I put into these dorky chapter titles.

_i don't care if you tear me apart (—in a sky full of stars, i think i saw you)._

"Natsu, take the fucking scarf off your head." 

"We're ninjas, I can't blow my cover! Now be quiet or someone might hear." 

"What the hell are you talki—" 

"Shhh!" 

"Natsu, you—" 

" _Shhh_!" Keeping his back to the alley wall, Natsu glances down the narrow path. It's deserted. Holding one hand to his head to keep the scale-patterned scarf from slipping, Natsu inelegantly spy-rolls to the other end of the street. He comes up in a crouch with his hands held together over his chest in a gun imitation. "Coast's clear," he hisses covertly, swivelling his back to the wall again. 

"It's hard to believe you're actually seventeen," Gajeel grumbles from behind him. "How the hell can you be older than me? In what _world_?" The gruff complaint sounds too loud in the twilight. The setting sun casts an orange shadow all over Magnolia, creating an eerily quiet atmosphere. 

Natsu throws his pierced friend a dirty look. "Hey, Gajeel?" 

"Hmm?" 

" _Shhh_." 

There's a pause as he waits for Gajeel's reaction — he grins when there isn't one. "Hey, Gajeel?" He's ignored this time, so he turns his charcoal eyes back to catch sight of the grumpy sixteen year old crossing his arms and sighing exasperatedly. "Gajeel," Natsu hisses again. "I have something important to tell you!" 

"Shut up, Natsu." 

_"...Nin-nin."_

Gajeel stares. "Natsu, I think your brain has melted. I really do." 

"That's awfully mean." 

"Shut up, hothead." 

"Don't tell me to shut u—!" Natsu cuts off, realising his shouting could endanger their sneakiness. He whispers an exaggerated apology. 

Gajeel runs a hand across his face as Natsu _rolly-pollies_ around another corner. "So glad the stores close early on Sundays. I'm embarrassed to know you." 

" _Hey_!" Natsu yells back defensively. "And _shhh_!" 

"You're the one who just yelled!" 

"Who's yelling now?" 

"For fuck's sake, you are!" 

"Well, so are you, stupid!" 

"Are you trying to pick a fi—" 

Gajeel freezes mid-sentence. His eyes widen and lock onto something behind Natsu, his jaw slackening. The pink-haired boy turns and follows his gaze, frowning in confusion, to be met with a worn-down black pick-up truck parked on the corner. There's rust crawling up the rim, and a glaringly obvious scratch running along the driver's door that almost looks like a scar. 

"That," Gajeel mumbles in appreciation, eyeing the haggard paint-job, "is one nice fucking car." He blinks twice and glances around the otherwise deserted street. "I want that car. That should be _my_ car." 

"Gajeel, we can't waste time, we're on a mission!" 

"...I don't even own a car. I want that one." Gajeel looks demented in his sudden happiness. "That's _my_ car." 

"Gajeel..." The pink-haired teen watches his transfixed friend cautiously. H-He wouldn't actually steal someone's car _again_... right? He only _looks_ like a delinquent; he wouldn't really do something that stupid... _right_? Natsu's train of thought is broken as Gajeel starts sprinting towards the parked truck without hesitation. "Wa— Gajeel!" Natsu curses under his breath and chases after him. 

Natsu gets an earful of Gajeel's gleeful chants of _'car, car, car'_ and quickens his pace, rapidly advancing on the mane of black hair. He'd always been faster than the would-be delinquent. Reaching out a hand, he leaps forward and tackles Gajeel with a grunt, sending them both skidding along the sidewalk. 

Gajeel groans into the tarmac, his cheek pressed against the ground as they slow to a standstill. "Get the fuck off me." 

"Not until you calm the fuck down," Natsu retorts, rather awkwardly adopting the curse Gajeel is renowned for overusing. He then hisses, "What's wrong with you? You can't just go around trying to jump random trucks. I thought we'd been over this." 

"What the fuck are you whispering for?" 

"You swear too much." Natsu clears his throat and glances around, paranoid. "Gajeel, if someone saw you trying to steal a car again—" 

"Chill out, hothead, I haven't stolen any cars—" 

"That's because every time you try to, someone ends up stopping you. You can't keep doing this, you know!" He runs a hand through his salmon-coloured hair exasperatedly. Holding his friend down with one hand, he gets up to sit on his back, preventing any chance of escape. "Just because all the other metal kids—" 

"—they're called mechanics, dimwit—" 

"—have cars doesn't mean you need one, too." Natsu carries on as if Gajeel hadn't said anything, well accustomed to this speech — Erza has to give it to Gajeel at least twice a month, and he never seems to get the message. "Not everyone needs to have a car!" 

"But..." He's disgruntled. "They _all_ have cars," he whines from underneath Natsu uncharacteristically. "I just want a car that suits me, is that too much to ask?" His petulant tone immediately switches to his usual grumpy snarl. "And seriously, Natsu. Fuckin' get _off_ me." 

Natsu scrutinises Gajeel for a second. "Have you snapped out of it? You can't just _take_ random cars off the street like they belong to you! You shouldn't even know how to do that, actually — what sixteen year old knows how to hotwire a car?" 

"Yeah, fine, whatever!" His impatient growl would have been a whole lot more intimidating had it not been issued from right underneath the salmon-haired boy. "Get off me already, idiot." 

"Nope," Natsu grins patronisingly. "What have we learned?" 

"I—" The dark-haired boy scowls at the ground. "That I can't just steal cars." 

"And? 

"And— fuck you, Natsu. And one day, I'll get my own car and it will be just perfect, rainbows and shit. You happy? Now _move_ your goddamn—" 

A girl's exasperated cry cuts him off. "First impressions aren't always right, you know?" 

Gajeel starts and Natsu jumps off of him in surprise as the voice continues. He can hear her clear as day and as Gajeel gets up hesitantly, they both look around for her. The street's just as deserted as it was a second ago. 

"I-I just hope that when they get here," she continues, somehow managing to sound both uncomfortable and self-satisfied. Natsu's gaze snaps to the window of the car — the _open_ window of the car — as he realises that's where her voice is coming from. "— get over your misplaced hatred enough to at least thank them for..." 

She trails off just as Natsu walks towards the window. She's got her back to him, so all he can see of her is blonde hair. He puts his hand to the door handle — she hasn't noticed him yet — and leans forward so he can see inside the truck. It's full of kids his age, three of whom are staring right at him with varying expressions of perplexity. _Blue hair,_ he notes with a wry grin. _Guess we found Shrimp and the gang._

Without a second thought, Natsu opens the door and accidentally sends the blonde girl leaning on it tumbling to the ground. 

_...Whoops._

She yelps in pain as her head hits the tarmac, and both Natsu and Gajeel wince as they _hear_ the muffled thump. She blinks up at Natsu, not really seeing him, and mumbles, "Wh-wha...?" 

Gajeel starts cackling at the sight of the poor girl, and Natsu can't help but smirk at her clueless expression. A petite girl with messy blue hair and a doll-like face wrenches the passenger door open and scrambles out. Her hazel eyes are furious, her cheeks a little ruddy. "Shut up, Gajeel!" she snaps angrily, glaring at the pierced boy. Natsu identifies her as Gajeel's infamous shrimp. He can see where she got the name... The top of her head is just about level with his shoulder. "Lu- chan, are you okay? Lu-chan!" 

"Uh..." The blonde that he may or may not have very accidentally catapulted to the floor tries to nod. But she ends up bumping her head for a second time, and Natsu almost rolls his eyes at her stupidity — even _he_ wouldn't do something like that. Probably. 

Gajeel's thoughts seem to be following the same path; he gives his signature snicker. "What an idiot. Did she just try to nod?" he gloats, enjoying the show. "No wonder your friends are as stupid as you are, shrimp." 

"Watch your mouth, douche-bag." 

His eyes widen — _did she just...?_ Her eyes are still unfocused, but she manages to say something like that!? Natsu can't help himself; he cracks up as Gajeel glares at the girl on the floor uncomfortably. It's not often someone other than Erza insults the pierced boy genuinely without flinching, and Natsu loves it. 

He crouches down as well, deducing that the girl wouldn't have normally said something like that... Someone like that would never wear a _ribbon_ in their hair, right? "She must have bumped her head hard." 

Her cinnamon eyes meet his charcoal ones, and she mumbles, "You have cute teeth." 

Where did that come from? The unexpected statement rings a bell in his memory and an image of a wasted Mirajane saying the exact same thing roughly five years ago flashes across his mind. "Are you... drunk?" he asks with some hesitation. 

The blonde considers the question. "I may be drunk on sidewalk." Natsu blinks innocently, not understanding. "Are you Nalu?" she continues, watching him with curious chestnut eyes. 

Natsu's brow furrows in confusion. Who the hell's— 

"Oh my God." A somewhat familiar voice interrupts Natsu's silent question as he glances up. "Natsu, Lucy. His name's Natsu." 

Said boy looks up and does a double take. Holy shit! The aforementioned voice belongs to none other than the stripper from Metalicana! Natsu's face settles into a scowl at the sight. He ignores the blonde's rambling about a lizard, his mind instead flashing back to the argument — and short brawl that _Natsu_ had won — at Gajeel's dad's garage the other day. He _hates_ this bastard! 

To stop himself from launching his fist at the guy, Natsu instead suddenly grips the blonde by her waist and pulls her to her feet, steadying her weight with his own. She's surprisingly light, especially for the size of her—... uh... He clears his throat to distract himself. "Lucy, huh?" he mumbles, looking anywhere but the girl's chest. He lets out a nervous chuckle, his breath making a few strands of her hair quiver. 

"You have magic breath," she slurs loudly, and Natsu fights the sudden urge to laugh. _She must have hit her head_ really _hard,_ he thinks. This theory is proven further when she randomly shouts, "You're a dragon!" 

Natsu takes the opportunity to glance around. Shrimp's silently seething at Gajeel, who's watching the blonde girl in Natsu's arms — Lucy? — with an amused expression. There's another girl with blue hair slightly darker than Shrimp's, and beside her stands yet another blunette, whose arms are crossed in a defensive stance. An unusual reddish tattoo stretches over his right cheek and across his eye, disappearing under his messy cobalt hair. 

_Same as Happy! Why do so many people have blue hair nowadays? It's can't be natural,_ Natsu wonders idly, decidedly ignoring the fact that pink hair isn't exactly common either. People can leave _his_ hair _alone_. 

"Get. Off. Her." The hostile voice is directed towards him. Natsu returns his challenging glare. 

"Excuse me?" he hisses. Something about this moron gets him all fired up for a fight. Does this idiot want a re-match? 

""Dragon-b— _I mean Nalu_ ," Lucy says suddenly, her voice faux-authoritarian, "I order you to let go of me." 

"Dragon...?" Natsu smirks, his anger at the stripper forgotten as he grins at the girl's words. "What are you, a princess?" He lifts his arms and turns the girl's small body around to face him. Oh, shit... This girl's damn _cute_. She blinks her wide eyes at him innocently and he finds he has to distract himself again. "Who the hell's Nalu, by the way?" 

"N-Natsu," she amends. 

His smirk widens and he can't help but tease her just a little. "Yes, Princess Lucy?" 

She ignores him, her cinnamon eyes landing on his hair. She giggles, "You have girl hair!" 

"Hey!" Natsu whines. _Okay, maybe she's not so cute anymore._ "Charming, aren't you?" 

She doesn't stop giggling. "It's pink! You're _pink_ ," she defends herself. 

Well, way to state the obvious. Natsu's hair is a manly pink. It's _manly_. "I can't exactly help it, you know," he grumbles — she's hit a sore spot and he knows it. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches the dark-haired boy smirking and the idea of punching it right off his face calms Natsu down a bit. 

"You're a giiirl dragon!" Lucy says gleefully, and the rose-haired boy raises an eyebrow in irritation. His hair is manly, and he doesn't care how much like Elfman he sounds, he isn't going to back down. _It is a manly pink._

Her expression changes in a split-second, and she frowns at Natsu disapprovingly. "Stop looking at me like that, it's rude." 

_He's_ rude? He gives the girl an exasperated look, but can't help but tease her again. "You gonna stop me?" 

"I _will_ ," she declares. To Natsu's intense surprise, before he knows what's really happening, Lucy is kissing him. 

She is kissing him. 

She's fucking kissing him. 

His yelp of alarm is muffled by her mouth, but the other cries aren't, the loudest of which seems to be more of a roar than anything else. Natsu recognises it to be the stripper's voice yelling, "Get off my sister, you bastard!" 

Someone yanks the girl off of the frozen boy, who blinks and watches as she tumbles out of his motionless arms and onto the ground again. The thump of her head hitting the sidewalk snaps Natsu out of his shock-induced daze and he winces as her eyes flutter closed. _Whoops... again._

"What the hell?" The dark-haired boy is right up in his face, Natsu's collar in his hand. He narrows his dark blue eyes threateningly. "Did you seriously just kiss my sister? I'm gonna rip you limb from limb!" 

"Are you blind, moron!?" Natsu yanks his shirt out the guy's grasp. "I didn't do a thing, it was all her! In case you didn't notice, your sister or whatever's the one that—" 

"—was just attacked by you, yeah, I saw!" Natsu watches incredulously as he suddenly strips off his shirt at lightning speed, his voice muffled by the fabric. "You pervert, you are _so dea—_ " 

"Who the hell are you calling perverted!?" Natsu shouts in alarm, "Put your shirt back on!" As the taller of the two blue-haired girls rushes towards the stripper, he catches sigh of everyone else staring at the confrontation with wide eyes and open mouths. 

"Gray-sama!" she cries in a panicked voice. 'Gray-sama' ignores her, finally managing to pull his head out of the collar of his shirt. 

"Let's go!" he yells, looking possessed as he leaps towards Natsu, left fist raised. 

"I'm all fired up!" the pink-haired boy retorts, making a run towards him. 'Cause why not? 

" _Gray-sama!_ " The girl's voice is raised, and although Natsu would never admit it, a little frightening. "Enough!" She steps in front of the two boys, both of whom slow down to keep from colliding with her. She places her hands on her hips, turning to throw Natsu a furious glare. "Juvia will not allow anyone to harm her _lov_ — friends! Her f-friends!" 

Natsu adopts a witless expression as his fury fades to be replaced by confusion. Gray roll his eyes impatiently behind her. He seems to have calmed down after her intervention as well. "Juvia, don't butt in! I was about to teach this bastard a lesso—" 

"Gray, what do you think you're doing?" Natsu jumps and turns to see none other than Shrimp storming towards them, leaving a stupefied Gajeel and the other guy by the pick-up truck. "Lu- chan's just hit her head so hard she might have split her skull, and you're trying to get into a fight with this hothead again!?" 

"I'm not a hothead!" 

"Oh, shush," Shrimp snaps at him. Natsu decidedly ignores Gajeel's snicker, grimacing. She's a lot more like the mechanic than he'd first though. Said girl's gaze lands on the unconscious blonde lying between them. 

"Out cold?" Gajeel pipes up, coming up behind him and crouching down to check on her. "That didn't go quite according to plan, did it? Erza's whole 'swoop in, be the hero' plan," he chuckles, glancing around as Shrimp checks her friend's pulse. "Where _is_ Erza, by the way?" 

Natsu shrugs, remembering. "She said she'd only be a minute. How long does it take to buy one cake?" 

Gajeel snorts. "Knowing her, she bought it, ate it, and bought ten more. She's insatiable when it comes to that sort of stuff." 

"What?" Natsu exclaims, irritated. "She's completely failed the mission, man. Crappy team-mate." 

"There is no mission, idiot." 

"Hell yeah there was. Why do you think we were ninja-ing earlier?" 

"...Talking to you kills my brain cells." 

"If you two ladies are done?" The two boys give their attention back to Shrimp, who's glowering at them, her hazel eyes narrowed. Natsu chuckles nervously. 

"What's your problem, Shrimp?" Gajeel snaps predictably. 

"Don't call me that!" 

"Came all the way out here, didn't we!?" 

"My name's Levy, you jerk!" 

"Hell, why did we even come in the first place?" Gajeel throws the question at Natsu, ignoring the indignant squeals coming from Shri— _Levy_. 

"I dunno. Erza?" 

"But she's not even here anymore..." 

"She has a weakness for cake and sucks at missions, what do you expect?" 

"I already said there's no damn mission, idiot! But—" Gajeel stands up and Natsu follows suit, both of them ignoring the scrutinising looks they're receiving from everyone "—I'm figuring there's no point is us staying here any longer. These idiots can take care of themselves." 

"You—!" Natsu watches, amused, as a still-crouched Shri— damn it, _Levy_ curses and pushes at Gajeel's legs. The pierced boy doesn't even look down, completely unaffected. 

"I think we should take care of Lucy though, it was kinda your fault she hurt her head, Gajeel," Natsu says thoughtfully. 

"What!? How the hell's it my fault?" 

"Well, you—..." Natsu trails off when he can't find a way to shift the blame off himself. " _Anyway_ , shouldn't we take her—" 

"Hell no, we aren't taking her _anywhere_. She doesn't even know us!" 

"Well, the rest of them can come with us, can't they?" 

"Like hell they can. They'll take care of themselves, we ain't their babysitters." 

"Gajeel, you should probably put more effort in or you'll fail the mission, you know." 

_"There is no mission!"_

"Uh, guys?" They both snap their heads around to the blue-haired guy who'd spoken. "Um, yeah, hi," he mumbles, self-conscious now that they're looking at him, one curious, one irritated. "We can't really _go_ anywhere, Pantherlily's still kind of dead. We need a ride." 

"Hell no, we don't need their help!" Gray butts in, stalking towards the three of them. "Jellal, what are you thinking? He just assaulted Lucy!" 

"I did not!" Natsu narrows his eyes, just itching for a chance for a fight with this weirdo who, he didn't fail to notice, still wasn't wearing a shirt. Maybe he'll get a cold and sneeze to death. Of course, Natsu would still hep. 

Gajeel ignores them two of them. "I'm thinking we just go. I'll drop you and Erza off at Fairy Tail, take my Dad's car back, we'll call it a night." 

"We can't just leave, Gajeel. Lucy's out cold—" Natsu ignores the outcry of, _"Thanks to you!"_ from Gray "—we should do something." 

"Take care of Pantherlily, maybe?" Jellal pipes up again. "There's only Gray and me, we can't exactly _push_ him back ourselves, you know. He's too big." 

"Who the fuck's Pantherlily?" 

"My car." The cobalt-haired boy gestures to the worn truck behind him. "Obviously." 

Gajeel's eyes widen, his mouth stretching into the same creepily happy grin from before. "That's _your_ car?" 

"Uh," Jellal hesitates, slightly freaked out by the pierced boy's sudden mood swing. "Yeah?" 

Natsu voices his thoughts before Gajeel can start his fangirling. "I still think we should take Lucy with us to Fairy Tail. Master could fix her!" 

"She's not _broken_!" Gray growls as Gajeel says something like, "Can I have your car?" 

Natsu sighs over-dramatically. "Gajeel, we went over this!" 

"Shut up, hothead," Gajeel disregards him entirely. "How much, man?" 

"Um, Pantherlily's not really for sale—" 

"Nah, Natsu's loaded, he'll pay anything—" 

"—No, I'm not!" 

"You are not selling your car to that bastard!" Gray interjects. 

"Who you calling bastard, bastard?" 

"That the best insult you can think of?" 

"Look who's talking!" 

"D-Don't call Gray-sama a bastard!" 

"Come on, seriously, how much?" 

"I said already, I'm not selling him!" 

"Put your shirt back on and fight me like a man!" 

"Bring it on, you crazy hothead! I'll kill you!" 

"Let's go, I'm ready, you stupid stripper! You're going down!" 

"Why not, man, come on, I'll pay whatever the fuck you want. I need that car!" 

"N-No, Pantherlily's mine!" 

"No shit, that's why I'm offering money, asshole!" 

"Don't call my brother an asshole, you— you _asshole_!" 

"Sit back down, Shrimp." 

"My _name_ is Levy!" 

"Put your shirt on, I'm not about to fight your naked ass!" 

"Gray-sama, Juvia disagr—" 

"What, you scared, 'dragon-boy'?" 

"Hell no, underwear-boy! Come here, I'll beat you into the ground!" 

The seven teenagers are a spectacle to be seen. An exasperated Jellal fends off an eager Gajeel waving seven ten-jewel bills in the air out of a jumping Levy's grasp; the other two are already wrestling on the ground yelling pathetic insults at each other; Juvia watches with wide eyes, squealing anxiously whenever Gray makes a noise in the scuffle. Lucy lies unconscious on the ground a little way away. 

The six youngsters that are still concious are all so consumed with something or other that no-one sees the scarlet-haired girl marching towards them, a scowl on her face and a threat in her stride. She stops a few metres from the action, watching with disapproving eyes as Gajeel yaps with his back to her, arguing with someone she can't see due to Gray and Natsu brawling right beside them. She clears her throat in quite a ladylike manner, before putting her hands on her hips and taking a deep breath. 

"CUT IT OUT, ALL OF YOU! _NOW_!" 

All four boys freeze in what they're doing, quite literally. Gray's hand is still around Natsu's throat, Natsu's fist against Gray's stomach. Both Gajeel's mouth and eyes are wide open. Jellal shivers just from the voice, subconsciously taking a step back so he's hidden behind Gajeel's overgrown body. Juvia's hands fly to cover her mouth, and Levy's hand — still well out of reach of the seventy jewels — dangles in the air uselessly. 

Even though more than half of the company don't know who she is, they all feel terror coil in their stomach. Gray and Natsu gulp simultaneously. 

Although they don't know it, they're all thinking the same thing: _am I going to die?_


	4. The Almost Wrath of Erza

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are two lion king references in here. I am weak when I'm sick— forgive me.

_it's something that's inside of us,  
it's how we've always been. _

Erza is glaring at Natsu, and he can't help but feel a little bit picked on. 

What's he getting the full glare for? It's not like he's the only one who—... uh, the only one doing whatever Erza's angry about. Half the time he can't even tell, but he goes with it because Erza is Erza and contrary to popular belief, Natsu is not immortal — yes, _even_ if he successfully consumed fire. He totally ate that fire. 

"What's going on here?" He jumps as her sharp voice slices through his distracted thoughts, but he's relieved to see that her piercing glower has moved past him, right over a paralysed Gray still choke-holding Natsu, onto Gajeel. 

"U-uh..." 

"Gajeel, I thought I could trust you to make sure things didn't get out of hand." The disappointment in her voice makes him cringe. Catching his slight flinch, Erza stands up straighter, her long red hair spilling over her shoulders and falling over her eye again. She doesn't even brush it away. "Now, before I teach you all a lesson, Gajeel, why do I get the feeling...?" She pauses, unintentionally dramatic as her gaze ghosts over Pantherlily innocently parked behind them. "Did you try to steal a car again?" 

"No!" the pierced boy answers a little too quickly. 

Erza sighs deeply at his accidental admission. At this point, Natsu's wondering whether he should hide behind the stripper, make a run for it, or choose a funeral playlist. Erza has moved on to Gray by now, her eyes narrowing. "Who are you?" she barks. 

"G-Gray!" he yelps immediately, both his and Natsu's arms dropping obediently to their sides. 

"Were you and Natsu...?" Her eyes narrow further, and she hisses, "Were you _fighting_?" 

"W-we wer— _OW_!" He turns to glare at the rose-haired boy beside him, who doesn't even try to hide the fact that he just pinched Gray's side. Instead, he looks at Gray with an imploring expression, an obvious message in them: _lie if you want to live_. "No, we were, uh— um, we were — that is, it was a— a, uh... game?" 

Natsu prays. 

"A game?" Erza takes a step forward and Levy has to fight a whimper. "What were you playing?" 

"Uh, um—" Juvia pipes up. Erza's gaze snaps to her, her eyes bearing an uncanny resemblance to a hawk. The blunette gulps. Natsu can almost _hear_ her chant ' _for Gray-sama_ ' in her head. "They were p-play wrestling." 

"Is that so? Gajeel." 

"Yes?" His snap to attention doesn't even make Levy crack a smile. 

"Truth?" 

"Of course, would I lie to you?" 

"Did you try to steal a car again?" 

"...I take back what I just said." He scratches the back of his head guiltily. "It had a scratch on it. You know me and my scratches." 

"Gajeel, you idiot," Natsu mumbles under his breath. 

Erza looks around, her gaze moving from Gajeel to Levy — whose arm slowly withers under the glare — to Gray and Natsu, both of whom give uneasy grins, to Juvia, who manages a weak smile, and very finally coming to rest on the unconscious blonde on the ground. 

She blinks. "Who is she?" No-one answers. "Natsu." 

"Aye! She's the princ— _OW_." He recovers startlingly well from Gray's quick elbow jab. "I mean Lucy. She bumped her head." Erza cocks an eyebrow, and Natsu rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "Twice." 

"Who did it?" 

Natsu answers with impressive speed. "Gajeel!" 

"What!? Stupid hothead! Now, Erza, don't look at me that way..." 

A sudden movement behind Gajeel catches Erza's attention, distracting her. "Who's that behind you?" 

"Uh..." Jellal swears under his breath and steps out, shifting awkwardly. He doesn't look quite at Erza but manages a glance in her general direction. "Hi." 

Erza's reaction to his appearance surprises everyone. She hastily steps back, trips over her own feet and falls flat on her butt with a girlish cry. 

"D-Did she just..." Natsu stutters. 

"Like a... a _girl_..." Gajeel falters. 

"K-kinda cute..." Gray stammers. 

Jellal's torn between helping her up and giving her the finger. "I'm not _that_ ugly," he whines, completely serious. 

Erza just stares up at him, her eyes wide. The rose-haired teen recognises that expression. "Erza, do you know him?" 

She takes a while to answer, and in that time, Jellal's made up his mind. He walks towards her, hand half-way outstretched; but Erza just squeals and moves away from him frantically, still on her hands and butt. 

"Uh..." Jellal looks uncomfortably from the three frozen guys, to his two clueless sisters, to the unconscious girl on the floor behind him, to the panicking one in front. "Should I cover my face, or...?" 

"N-No, you—" Erza mutters absent-mindedly. "Y-You, um— I— I'm, um." 

Jellal blinks, bemused. "What?" 

Erza squeaks again. 

While this goes on, Levy is the first of the gang to un-freeze. She immediately turns and says to Gajeel, "And you said _my_ friends were weird." 

Gajeel responds in his typical grumpy fashion, giving her a fierce glower — Natsu is impressed that she doesn't quail at all. "You implyin' something about my friends?" 

"Maybe I am," she snaps, narrowing her eyes. 

The tall boy's glare grows more intense. "Why don't you say it then?" 

"I'm not surprised I have to spell it out for you." 

"What the fuck's that supposed to mean!?" 

"Don't swear at me!" 

"Fuck you!" 

"Oh my God!" 

Natsu glances around. Erza is still sitting on the tarmac stammering — "I-uh, you, we— Um, th- the..." — and staring at Jellal, who just squirms under her gaze. He looks around half-heartedly for a distraction, his gaze landing on his little sister, who's arguing loudly with Gajeel and actually managing to hold her ground. Gray also shakes his head a little to snap out of it, and turns to be met with a frantic-looking Juvia. 

"Gray-sama's shirt!" she wails, holding up a slightly-dirty t-shirt. "Juvia is sorry, she let it get dirty! Gray-sama, your _shiiirt_!" She then proceeds to burst into tears. 

Both Natsu's and Gray's jaws drop. 

So while Gray tries to comfort the distraught Juvia, Gajeel and Levy verbally abuse each other and Erza re-lives past trauma through an awkward and clueless Jellal's visage, Natsu takes the opportunity to make a run for it. _Better surviving today and facing Erza's wrath tomorrow than another damned car ride with her._

His appreciation for everyone's distraction increases as he accidentally trips over Lucy's body not five steps into his escape attempt. 

He gets up from where he's sprawled on the ground beside her, his cheeks not red in the slightest because Natsu doesn't do anything as stupid as _blush_ , and glances over at Lucy. Her expression is completely blank, and the big brother in him suddenly rears its over-protective head. He puts a hand to her face just to check, you know, stuff — and grimaces when his fingers find her to be cold to the touch. 

He takes a deep breath through his nose. _Sorry, Gajeel. Fairy Tail it is._ After shooting a look at everyone to realise that they're all wrapped up in their own business, he leans down and scoops the girl up in his arms. God, but walking with her on his back is not gonna be fun. (And his gaze is firmly _averted_ from her chest, in case you were wondering.) He scrambles for a bit when he realises that he's stuck with a dead-to-the-world girl in his arms, six distracted companions and no idea where to go. 

"Uh. Guys?" 

Gajeel and Levy's insults have grown steadily worse, their voices rising in volume and their arms gesturing around wildly as they yell at each other; Juvia is sobbing into Gray's arms and seeming to have a lovely time of it; Erza is _still_ stammering, her ass firmly planted on the ground; Jellal has given up and is also sitting across from her with his chin in his hand, waiting for her to calm down enough to tell him if he needs to cover his face or not. 

Natsu lamely tries again. When it doesn't work, he resorts to Erza's method. _"SHUT THE FLAMING HELL UP FOR A SECOND, WOULD YOU?"_ Although he manages to catch everyone's attention, all Natsu can seem to focus on is that Lucy still doesn't stir. Worry coils deeper into his stomach."I'm going to Fairy Tail. If you wanna come, uh... You guys don't know what that is, but uh... Well, you know, I'm tired and hungry and she's half-dead—" he raises the girl in his arms "—so catch you later." 

He's started shuffling in the direction Erza had come from when he hears Levy's exasperated voice mumble, "Oh, _now_ you shut up." 

Natsu can't help his smirk as he almost hears Gajeel's fury. 

"You know what, hothead? Whatever. Fairy Tail it is." Out of the corner of his vision, he sees a black mane of hair with a boy attached to it stoop down and pull a disoriented Erza to her feet. Natsu turns, Lucy's hair brushing his arm as he does, and grins at Gajeel. 

The pierced boy returns it with an scathing scowl. 

* * *

**{scene break}**

The seven teenagers reach the popular bar of Magnolia known as Fairy Tail at approximately 2:08 in the morning. 

_2:08 in the motherfucking morning._

At this point, Natsu wants nothing more than to collapse onto his bed and snore to his heart's content — the poor guy's been pushing a god-knows-how-heavy pick-up truck across the city for four hours. He _deserves_ those snores. But there's one glaring roadblock in this plan, and her blonde head is currently resting on his pillow. 

He stares at her, and almost wants to cry. Life's just not fair, is it? 

Natsu hears the door to his bedroom creak and he jumps — or really, just shivers in an exhausted fashion — and turns to be met with a sight that still manages to startle him. His hyperactive six 

year old of a brother is standing in the doorway rubbing his bleary eyes and pouting. His blue 'Tom and Jerry' themed pyjamas are wrinkled, and the paw of his black cat plushie trails on the floor. 

"Natshu?" Happy mumbles. 

Without hesitation, Natsu places a hand protectively over his youngest brother's fluffy blue hair and crouches down so they're at eye level. "What're you doing still up, Happy? You should have been asleep hours ago." He keeps his voice gentle and subdued, ruffling his brother's hair lovingly. 

Happy gives an adorable yawn. "Um, I woke up when Gajeel bumped my door." Natsu makes a mental note to punch the pierced boy later as he yawns back. Happy continues, "Natshu, there's a bunch of blue people in the living room." 

"Yeah, Happy, they're my new buddies. They're all having a sleep-over here toni—" He stops as another tear-jerking yawn comes over him. "You know what? I'll tell you in the morning." He takes the hand not holding the toy and leads Happy out the door. The hallway is dark except for the dim light of a lamp in the living room, which glows quietly and spills into the hallway. It reflects off the glass of the photos on the opposite wall, winking at them as the pass by. 

Natsu leads Happy across the narrow hallway into his own room, stepping quietly so as to not wake up Romeo or his adoptive father, and pads across the soft carpet to Happy's bed. "Come on, in you go." Happy obediently hops up with his big brother's help, and wiggles into the blankets. Out of habit, Natsu kneels down beside him and gives a kiss first to the plushie clutched in Happy's arms, then to his brother's nose and finally to his forehead. It's their handy dandy pre- emptive nightmare-vanquishing ritual. "G'night," he murmurs into Happy's blue hair. 

Happy squirms a bit, and with eyes screwed shut, he pulls the blanket up over his head, creating a make-shift fort for himself. Only when he's comfortable and warm does a tired muffled voice mumble, "Goodnight, Natshu. Love you." 

Natsu smiles gently, and gets up from his knees. "You too. Go to sleep." 

Only once he's shut the door behind himself and listened to make sure Happy stays in bed does he allow his shoulders to sag as he slumps in exhaustion. He tiredly makes his way to a storage cupboard to fetch blankets so he can spend the night on his bedroom floor. 

He's too sleepy to even complain. 

Once Erza had snapped out of her dazed stupor, she completely ignored Jellal — to the bemusement of everyone. Instead of explaining, she calmly informed her two friends that unless they made an effort to help their 'new friends' (a phrase Gajeel had been quick to rebuke) Erza would confiscate both of their game consoles and priceless collection of games. And by confiscate, they both knew she meant _smash to pieces_. And so started Gajeel's attempts at fixing the stupid pick-up truck for about an hour. 

It was about nine o'clock when he finally confessed that he needed to show it to his Dad. And as there was no point in giving the blue-haired clan and the stripper a lift, since both Jellal and the pierced boy refused to leave the spot unless Pantherlily went with them, Gajeel drove his Dad's car back to his place and ran back. Ten o'clock came and went with arguments over who would do what — in the end, all the boys (and Erza) pushed, Juvia steered, Levy carried Gajeel's tools and Lucy's lack of activity in the backseat continued to worry Natsu like in itch. And now, the stripper and the blue-clan are all camping out in the living room under the watchful (and by watchful, he means closed and dreaming) eyes of Gajeel and Erza. He can't even hear anyone 

talking, so he's guessing they've fallen asleep already. A loud snore from the stripper confirms his thoughts. 

Natsu closes his bedroom door behind him with his foot, his arms laden with poufy blankets. He gives his bed a longing look, but Igneel and Macao taught him well enough for him to put into practice what his gut is telling him; the injured helpless pretty girl gets the bed. It's like, the law. 

His gaze does _not_ wander to her chest, if that's what you're thinking. And he does _not_ get flustered and drop the blankets on the floor, _nor_ does his gaze snap to her face as he tries to distract himself. 

Her dark eyes are wide open and scrutinising him. 

"Oh, shit." Natsu feels his face go up in flames. 

She doesn't seem to notice though, instead wincing and closing her eyes gently. "Dragon-boy, I think my head might explode," she says weakly, the rest of her body unmoving. 

Natsu, unable to stay in the room, manages to choke out, "...Ice-pack" before scrambling out the doorway and heading straight for the kitchen, eyes glued to the floor the whole way. When he grabs an ice-pack from the freezer, he spends a second or two just pressing it to his heated cheeks. _It's because I'm tired,_ he reasons with himself as he makes his way back to his room. _I can't be held responsible when I'm tired. Besides, I'm not a pervert, so it's definitely exhaustion. And I'm a healthy teenage boy. If anything, this is a good thing! Right. Good thing. Yes. I'm healthy._

When he gets in, she's sitting up and gingerly touching the back of her skull. Her eyes flash to him and she gives him a weak grin. _Maybe three quarters exhaustion_ , he amends. 

"Here you go," he mumbles, holding it up as some sort of offering of apology. She takes it without hesitation, and lies back down on the bed, her head resting right beside the cold bag. She closes her eyes and before he can even move away from the bed, her breathing regulates and he's pretty sure she's fallen asleep again. 

He stretches, yawning, and goes to pick up the mess of blankets by the door — in the end, he just kicks them to the other side of the room, stripping his shirt off as he does. Natsu collapses onto the bundle as quietly as he can. He rests his head on his arm, his arm on his stomach and just when he's settling down to sleep does he notice that Lucy is lying in bed facing him with open eyes. 

He blinks up at her stupidly. "You okay?" he whispers. She doesn't answer, just continues to stare at him speculatively. "Well..." He clears his throat awkwardly. "Goodnight." Closing his eyes, Natsu is still a bit too aware of her watching him. It's uncomfortable. So it takes him a few moments, but he eventually makes the decision to flip over so he's not facing her. 

Silence settles in the room; he lets out a feeble sigh. 

Just when he's almost drifted into a dreamless slumber, an innocent voice snaps him awake again. " _Natshuuu_." 

He doesn't even turn around, scowling with his eyes shut. "Happy, please go to your roo—" 

"I'm not happy, I'm sad and cold. _Natshuuu_." 

His eyes snap open and he jolts upright, turning to face Lucy, who blinks at him. "W- wait, _you're_ cold?" She nods slowly, her head still on the pillow. Some of her blonde hair falls over her face and she blows at it lazily, failing to move it. He looks at her for a moment. "Do you... want my blanket?" 

She nods without hesitation, pouting. 

A small smirk finds its way to Natsu's lips _('cause Lucy's kind of adorable)_. He slowly struggles to his feet and drags his makeshift bed to his real one. "Here you go, Princess Lucy." He half- heartedly hoists it up and settles it over her body. When he's done, she looks to have already fallen asleep _again_. _Like I should be,_ a petulant voice in his mind whines, and he agrees wholeheartedly as he shuffles over to his spot on the floor. Slumping down unceremoniously, he tries to get comfortable. A glance at his alarm clock tells him that it is now 2:53. He makes a mental note not to check it again. 

He doesn't even care that he's on the floor, his only concern being to get to sleep already. But then — "Natsu." 

He pretends he's asleep. As far as he's concerned, the chivalrous gentleman in him fell asleep hours ago. 

But— _"Natshuuu."_

"Stupid princess," he growls to himself, his back to her. 

"Na—" 

_"Nnngh?"_

"I'm still cold." 

He grunts, rolling over onto his back and stretching his arms above him, too comfortable to get up. "Mkay." 

"This ice-pack is really cold." 

"S'great, Luce." He can't even say her full name anymore, he is too goddamn tired and she really needs to _shut up already._

"Natsu, I'm freezing!" 

"Mhhm..." 

She's silent. A sweet smile or relief begins to form on his face. _Finally... Some peace..._

"Aren't you cold, Natsu?" 

"Fuckin' hell! Just go sleep already, would you!?" he hisses at her, sitting up again to glare at Lucy. She blinks at him innocently with her head raised, still laying down. 

"I need to steal your body heat. Come here, give it to me." Her head falls back against the pillow. "If I turn into an ice-cube, I'll hold you responsible, dragon-boy..." 

You know what? The stripper can yell all he wants in the morning. Finally giving in, Natsu scrambles to his feet, stomps to the bed, throws the covers off the blonde girl and gets in beside her. _That's right, Gray. I'm sleeping with your sister._

He yawns and pulls the blanket over the two of them. Lucy faces him with a soft smile, and says, "I'm gonna steal your body heat now." 

"Have fun with that," he grumbles, closing his eyes and trying to ignore the fact that she smells 

kind of nice (because Natsu doesn't notice that kind of stuff). She's almost, but not quite, touching his bare chest. Not that he noticed that either. "Sleep, Luce. _Sleep_." 

She makes an amused noise at his exasperated tone, closing her eyes as well. "You know, I still think my head might explode." 

"Just don't get any brains on me, then." 

"No promises." She yawns. "Goodnight." 

He hums, motionless. 

She clears her throat expectantly, swivelling to lie on her back, and gently nudges him with her arm. 

"Nnngh... G'night," he amends, snuggling into the blankets. It's warm and she's soft and every breath smells sweet and _damn it_ , he just wants to sleep already. And he's sorry, Gray, but he was too damn tired to argue, and it's okay anyway because he's not a snuggler (he thinks) and he wouldn't do something like that in his sleep with a kind-of stranger, so just— no. This is fine. 

Snuggler or not, exhaustion quickly slows his thought process. His head lolls onto her pillow. 

She's sleeping. 

His arm snakes round her waist. 

Now he is too.


	5. Welcome to the World of the Living

**{previously; ch1}**

"Hi." 

A male voice — a noticeably _nice_ male voice — brings her attention back to the present, and she feels the blood drain from her face as she realises who it belongs to. 

_Please, no._

She screws her eyes shut in an attempt to pass it off as a dream — please, please, please let this not be real — but to her mortification, when she opens them, she is still lamentably in bed with a half-naked ( _please_ let him just be _half_ -naked) teenage boy. 

Lucy looks up as slowly and casually as she can get away with. dread joins the nausea coiling violently in the pit of her stomach; her gaze passes over the expanse of lightly-tanned skin taut across his broad shoulders, over his relaxed neck, his defined jaw, a sharp-toothed grin, dark slanted eyes, and — _she knew it_ — salmon-pink hair sticking up in all directions. 

Natsu chuckles deep in his throat. "Morning, princess. How's your head?" 

Well, shit. Gray is going to _murder_ her. 

* * *

_there's a hole in my soul — can you fill it?_

She stares at him, unblinking. And he meets her gaze quite happily, a slight smirk on his lips and his arm still lazily draped across her waist. After a moment or so of silent (and might she mention _awkward_?) eye contact, he clears his throat. 

"Is your head okay? You bumped it pretty hard..." He makes a face. "Both times." Lucy just stares at him for a little longer, appreciating the way he squirms uncomfortably under her scrutiny. His gaze drifts up to the ceiling. "Can you not... stare so much?" 

Can she— 

Can she not _stare so much?_ H—... He can't be serious. No. No way. 

In the end, that's what calls it for her. Because he is clearly not normal, or completely or even partially sound in the head, and she makes it her policy (barring recent events) to live a relatively risk-free, safe, comfortable life. And she's pretty sure that included somewhere in that overarching motto is the following: do not trust a strange boy in bed if he can't meet your gaze. 

It's there, in some form or another. And Later, it serves as a defence and explanation for what she does next. 

Lucy wrenches his arm from her body, pushes the blanket off with her other hand, and leaps from the bed (elbowing his stomach _accidentally of course_ in the process). Screaming is involved. She glances around frantically, and without wasting so much as a second, rushes for the first door she sees and slams it shut behind her. Leaning back against it, panting, and holding one hand to her 

racing heart, she decides to calmly and maturely assess the situation. 

"Holy shit. Holy crap. Oh my holy crap." This continues until her heartbeat concedes to slowing down. She squeezes her eyes shut on the off chance that maybe, _just maybe_ , some fairy godmother will appear and this will all be undone. Whatever this _is_. "Oh my holy _crappity_ crap crap crap." 

Okay. Alright. Asses the situation, Lucy. Worst case scenarios, let's go. Number one: she _slept_ slept with him — immediately ruled out, unless she's very suddenly developed a superpower to go through cloth— nope, irrelevant, she's not going there. Worst case scenario number two: she's kidnapped, he's a guard with some very hands-on policies, and he's currently holding her hostage for a ransom against her will. 

It sounds crazy. It is a bit crazy. But isn't this whole situation crazy? Considering all the different factors, it's certainly not implausible. People do this kind of stuff everyday, right? Like, that's what the news is always showing. Right? She doesn't watch the news, not really, but she's _right_ , right? The kidnapping is _definitely_ a possibility. 

No, no no no, _no_. Deep breaths. She needs to be calm, cool, and analytical. Think about this logically, Lucy. Be practical. 

What exactly should one do during a kidnapping? 

There's always the option of paying him. She could try that. She could bribe him. Or— or she could, um, do— do housework? Clean? Cook for him? Kidnappers need their nutrition as much as anyone else, right? (Unless they... they're the types who do the whole... f-freezer thing. She saw that on the news alright. In that case, she would have no problem providing nutrition for them that way... Ah, she feels a bit queasy now.) _Moving on._ She can try to escape, make a break for it or something. A window would be helpful for that plan. Or a door. Unless he's waiting on the other side, in which case— 

_"Hey!"_ His petulant groan halts Lucy in her freedom-frenzied tracks. He does not sound amused. "That was highly unnecessary." 

Right. Negotiating time. She clears her throat and steels her nerves. "I-I'll have you know that I am not opposed to people unopposed to bribery." 

Oooh, there was definitely an better way to say that. His answering silence is evidence enough for that. Okay, so there's that option out the window. (She's back to the windows, now?) Although this wasn't really something she took into account. The psychotic kidnapping murderer never _not answers._

Attempt number two: "I can— umm, I can," she starts convincingly, "cook! I'm a good cook!" (She really hopes she's not giving him ideas right now.) "Thus, I would appreciate you not— not turning to cannibalism for nutrition, you see. I'm really not that tasty. I'm all gamy. And— and I taste very _human_ , blegh, you don't want _that_. I hear chickens are so much more appetizing. I hear that. Yes." 

Oh, wow. She's going to die. 

...Fantastically handled, Lucy. Really, bravo. Right, back to the windows. This bathroom doesn't seem to have one big enough for a squirrel to fit through. Well, maybe Levy would have a fighting chan— 

Levy! What have they done with sweet innocent Levy? And Jellal and Juvia and Gray? _What'll Lucy do if they've eaten Gray!?_

A knock on the door snaps her out of it. She pushes back against it lest the kidnapper try to break in. _Bastard ate her brother, like hell she's letting him in!_ When he knocks again, she slides to the floor with something akin to a choked whimper. How can this be happening to her? She's too freaking _young_ to have to deal with this. She's too young to die! There are so many things she hasn't done yet; she's yet to publish a novel, or become a sought-after model, or be self-sustaining, or— like, she hasn't even met her fans ye— she doesn't _have_ any fans yet. That's an issue! She can't _die_! 

Uncontrollable hyperventilation is approaching over the horizon when a familiar voice calls through the door, "Lucy?" 

"Gray!? You're alive!" She twists and clutches at the door-handle above my head for dear life. "You need to help me! Quickly, before he returns with backup! Tell everyone I've been kidnapped! And beat the pinkette up for me, I'm too scared to— oh, but be careful, he could try to eat y—!" 

"I'm not that easy to beat up!" an indignant voice Lucy recognises to be Natsu's pipes up. "Dude, your sister's a fucking psychopath." 

(Did he really answer to pinkette just now?) "Go, Gray! Do it now! Before he kills me with his cannibalistic cruelty!" 

She scurries away from the door to the centre of the bathroom to put as much distance between her and the potential crime scene as possible. After a silent moment, the handle twists and the door slowly clicks open. Half of her doesn't want to look (because today is _not_ the day she needs to see Gray with a knife sticking up from his heart, his hand extended towards her as he desperately tries to save his dear little sister even in the cold clutches of dea— 

She blinks rapidly. "Ah." 

Juvia is standing at the door with an confused expression while a confused Gray stands beside Natsu, who's squinting at her like she's crazy. 

"I...see." She clears her throat awkwardly. "You guys were kidnapped too. Right. Um. Shall we pretend the last five minutes never happened, or...?" 

Gray's wearing the same clothes he was yesterday, his hair wet — did he shower? But what she really notices are his eyes, which are round, worried, and watching her like a hawk. "Do all fiction writers have this kind of imagination?" 

Lucy blinks some more, still noticeably perplexed, still kneeling in the middle of a stranger's bathroom and still staring, dumbfounded, at her twin. 

"Lucy screamed," Juvia pipes up, walking into the bathroom and helping Lucy to her feet, "so Gray-sama and Juvia rushed here as fast as possible. But Natsu-san said that, um—" 

"You went batshit on me," Natsu supplies as Juvia trips over her words. He's still giving her psycho-eyes. 

Juvia nods with a straight face. "Right." 

Sudden relief leaves Lucy's knees a little weak as her body catches up to her mind. "So we're... _not_ kidnapped?" 

Gray makes a choked noise of disbelief as Juvia giggles. "No, Lucy. We are not." 

She falters again, glancing at Natsu. He's turned away from her, his shoulders shaking suspiciously from what she's sure is silent laughter. She purses my lips, feeling stupid. "And he's not a psycopath?" 

"He's an idiot, but he's not gonna _kill_ us," Gray supplies. 

"I'm not an idiot, idiot," Natsu snaps at him, amusement cut short. He turns around again and Lucy is suddenly very face to face with the fact that he is indeed very, very _shirtless_. And displaying a defined six-pack, messy bed hair, and a really adorable grin for all to see. 

"However," Lucy changes the subject, glancing away so he doesn't notice, "that still doesn't explain why we slept together." 

Gray twitches. _"What."_

She gives him a blank look. "What?" 

"What did you just say?" 

"What about it?" 

"N-no, repeat what you just said." 

"What?" 

"What what?" 

_"What are you talking about?"_

"What you just said!" Gray's incredulous gaze snaps from Lucy to Natsu, who looks as bewildered as she feels. "Repeat what you said, Lucy!" 

"Wh... why?" She narrows her eyes in suspicion. 

"Just do it!" 

"Wow, okay! Jesus. I just said that this still doesn't explain why Natsu and I slept together, that's all!" There's an awkward moment as she realises she probably could have worded that better. "N- Not like _tha_ —" 

"How dare you!?" Gray cuts her off as he jumps at a flustered Natsu, who side-steps out of the way as if he was expecting it. 

"She said she was cold," he defends himself. Lucy doesn't miss the hint of pink in his cheeks, noting the pout that looks ridiculously out of place on his face. Not that it doesn't look kind of adorable anyway. Kind of. 

Gray's fist connects with his face, halting her admiration. "Yeah, I'm sure you warmed her right up!" 

"Gray!" Lucy tries to intervene, ignoring the voice in her head telling her it's both unwise and pointless. "Stop! What are you doing!? You can't just..." She trails off as Natsu flips Gray over onto the floor and jumps on him, fists raised. "Y-you... shouldn't fight..." 

Juvia sighs as if the brawl is a regular occurrence. "Is Lucy okay?" she asks with a small smile. 

"I, uh—" Lucy glance back at the two boys wrestling on the floor. "I'm fine, but shouldn't we, um —" she winces slightly as Gray's foot collides with Natsu's toned abdomen, and doesn't even elicit a flinch "—stop them or something?" 

Juvia shakes her head. "It was exactly like this last night, too. They don't exactly get along," she explains. "Gray-sama's victimisation aside, how's your head?" 

_Victimisation, huh..._ With one last glance at her idiot of a brother, she raises a hand to the back of her head to check. "Actually," she mumbles with a grimace, "now that you mention it, it kind of hurts. Did something happen last night? 'Cause the last thing I remember is..." Lucy trails off when she actually _recalls_ the last thing she remembers. And curses herself for it, burying her face in her hands. "Oh my God." 

Juvia giggles, well aware of the reason behind the blush. "Levy and Juvia were just talking about it." Lucy droops further at the words. "Anyway, after _that_ ," she smiles wickedly, "Lucy hit her head again and passed out for the night. Everyone was so worried about it! And Gajeel-kun couldn't fix Pantherlily so he, Natsu-san and Erza-san helped to push it to Natsu-san's place..." 

"Huh." Lucy gives a veteran grimace. "I can't believe I gave my first kiss to..." Natsu squirms violently as a Gray yelling something about 'stolen innocence' holds him in a chokehold. _"That."_

"Perhaps Juvia should call Erza-san," Juvia speculates, eyeing them. "Poor Gray-sama. He's so kind to put up with Natsu's harassment." 

Lucy doesn't quite wrap her head around the logic because no part of Gray's attempted murder-by- suffocation gives the impression that he's 'putting up' with anything. But when she vocalises the thoughts, Juvia just _hmms_ and dodges Gray's shirt as it flies over her head. Her ultramarine eyes are fixated on the idiot brother's naked torso, and the blonde gives a little cringe. Lord knows what she sees on him. 

"What's going on here?" 

Gray and Natsu freeze in their places at the voice. Raising a confused eyebrow, Lucy follows their gazes to see an unfamiliar girl with striking red hair. And she's _really_... well-endowed. Like, damn — that's gotta hurt. (As if on cue, Lucy's lower back twinges a little, because damn it, she would know. She _sympathises_.) 

Said comrade-in-arms marches into the room straight for the blonde, a welcoming smile on her lips. "My name is Erza Scarlet. I'm eighteen years old, and I live across the hall. I helped push you here. Well, your truck here. Well, J-Jellal's truck here." She pretends she didn't stammer on his name, widening her close-lipped smile. 

"Uh..." Lucy takes the offered hand to find her grip firm and warm. "Lucy Heartfilia, sixteen. I live... uh... well, not here." 

Despite the anything-but-stellar introduction, Erza smiles. "Pleasure. Is there anything you need?" 

"Huh?" She rubs the back of her head out of habit and winces when it worsens the ache. Erza catches it and her smile immediately drops, her face morphing with guilt. 

"Your head! Of course! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She brings her other hand to Lucy's and clasps it in despair. "Had I arrived earlier, you wouldn't have sustained such severe injuries. I've completely let you down, I know I have. _Please_ , hit me! I'll never let it happen again!" Meanwhile, the blonde gives her a blank stare, words like 'masochist' and 'teacup formality' floating through her mind. "And I apologise on behalf of Natsu, he's just an idi— Oi, you!" Lucy 

starts as Erza's voice hardens and triples in volume. She gives a lame tug of her hand, but the grip doesn't even waver — Lucy would be willing to wager that the red-head didn't even feel it, from the strength of the grip. Lucy tugs again, and Erza suddenly lets go, only to stomp towards (a still shirtless— not that it matters, _whatever_ ) Natsu. "Apologise to Lucy!" 

"Aye!" When Natsu salutes, Lucy reaffirms her suspicion that he is many things excluding normal. "Lucy, I apologise!" 

"Introduce yourself!" Erza orders as she disappears into a third door which Lucy can only assume leads to his wardrobe, since there isn't one in the room already. As she glances around, she takes note of all there is to take note of — which isn't a whole lot. The walls are a rich maroon, the furniture is made of light oak, and the swivel chair by the desk has left little indentations in the carpet. 

"This is my room," Natsu informs her in an amused voice, watching the blonde size up his bedroom. "Shall I follow Erza's trend?" He clears his throat grandly. "Natsu Dragneel. Seventeen. Kidnapper extraordinaire." 

Lucy snorts. "Yeah. Hi." 

She glances around again. No posters, no pictures, no overpriced guitars or piles of books — it's a nice room, but it's not very... You know, _him_. Not that she's saying she knows him well or whatever, because _noooo_ , but she'd have guessed someone as... eccentric, for lack of a better word, as this guy would have a louder room, that's all. It's just—... Come on, what teenage boy doesn't have suggestive cut-outs pinned over his bed? Or is that just Gray being a creeper? 

And speaking of unusual things that do or don't belong, Lucy would very much like to know just what Natsu does to work out. Seriously. What teenager is that toned?She isn't complaining — no no no, that's not it at all, and she isn't _looking, oh no_ — but really, she lives with a teenage boy, okay, so she knows how much they eat, how lazy they are, and how crazy about fitness they can be. Well, not fitness. More muscle mass. But Gray's an idiot, so maybe that's not the norm. 

Lucy glances at him again, pointedly ignoring the abs. When she catches his gaze, he beams so wide she's taken aback. "Just so you know, I'm not gonna eat you. Thought I should clear that up." 

She laughs awkwardly. "It's adequately cleared." 

"Just making sure." 

"Very efficient. You're a good worker bee." 

"That's what the hive tells me." 

The insanely awkward introductory anti-flirty banter is — _very thankfully_ — cut short by Erza, who reappears suddenly and shoves a neatly folded bundle of clothes into his arms. "Get dressed. Breakfast in ten." 

Lucy manages not to coo, despite how aww-worthy a red-head mothering a pinkette is. 

"Aye!" Natsu shoots back, sadly not being able to salute due to the clothes suddenly thrust into his hands. As he passes Lucy on his way to the bathroom (and the location of her embarrassing yet _completely rational_ meltdown), he throws her another wide grin. "Welcome to Fairy Tail." 

"I— Yes. Thank you. Um." 

He closes the door behind him, leaving Lucy bewildered, bemused, and breaking into a grin. 

**{to be continued}**


	6. Detective Jellal

_rose garden filled with thorns, keep you second guessing like 'oh my god, who is she?'_

Gray sits on the ground, shirtless, while Juvia fusses over him like a butterfly over a flower. He glances up and catches Lucy's eye, raising an eyebrow. "You okay?" 

She shoots him a smile. "Definitely. Some painkillers and I'll be good as new." 

He nods, looking like he's trying very hard not to look relieved. He takes the shirt Juvia is brandishing towards him and struggles to put it on as quickly as possible. Lucy shakes her head at the sight — what a hopeless boy. 

"Lucy," Erza exclaims suddenly, "come with me." She grabs her wrist and pulls her out the room; Lucy follows without resistance, of course, which seems to be the safest option, taking note of her unfamiliar surroundings as she does. It looks like they're in some sort of family apartment. 

Erza leads her through a hallway and straight into a joint living room and kitchen. The back wall of the living room is dominated by a glass door that bathes the beige walls with sunlight. Outside, Lucy spies a small terrace, just big enough for two deck chairs and a tiny coffee table. 

Two familiar heads of blue are visible over the back of a cream sofa, a muted TV sitting in the background as they talk quietly to each other. They glance up at the two girls' entrance. Erza goes straight to the kitchen as Lucy makes a beeline for her friends. 

"Jellal! Levy!" Lucy laughs, remembering the image of Levy scrambling through a window much too small for her to viably get through from earlier. "So everyone's here. That's good." 

Levy's face splits into a wide grin at the sight of her. "Lu-chan, here." She leaps up, offering her seat as she perches on the armrest of the couch instead. "It's already twelve thirty. I thought you'd never wake up! Are you feeling any better?" 

"Wait, seriously?" Lucy looks around worriedly for a clock as she sits down beside Jellal. "You should have woken me up!" 

She giggles. "We tried to but Erza wouldn't have it. She insisted you needed to _heal_." 

Lucy shakes her head with a sigh. "I'm fine, honestly. She shouldn't make such a fuss." 

As if on cue, Erza places a glass of water and two pills on the glass table in front of the blonde. She makes to kneel on the floor, handing Lucy a plate of sliced apples with a sweet smile. "You must be hungry," she says, tucking a strand of scarlet hair behind her ear. 

Lucy is taken aback. "R-Really, Erza," she mutters, flustered, "you didn't have to—" 

"Nonsense. You're a guest here," she shakes her head as if that's an answer to everything. "Besides, it was partially my fault you were injured, so it's my responsibility to ensure your full recovery. Anyway—" she adds on when Lucy opens her mouth to argue, giving a meaningful glance to the plate in her lap "—we've all been waiting for you to wake up. So _eat_." 

"I— Thank you." Lucy gives a quick smile and picks up a piece of fruit. 

"You know, Lu-chan," Levy pipes up, "last night, Gajeel let slip that it was actually Erza who made him come help us. I wasn't really expecting him to show up, and he didn't look all that ecstatic to be there either, but if it wasn't for Erza—" She turns to thank her directly, grinning. "You really saved us! I'm not sure what we would have done without you." 

Jellal shifts uncomfortably. "Probably just called someone else, to be honest." 

When Levy turns to glare lightly at her older brother, he backtracks. 

"But thanks anyway," he mumbles, looking shifty. "Thought that counts." 

Lucy frowns in confusion, biting into another juicy slice. Well, _that_ didn't sound sincere in the slightest. 'Cause it's one thing for Jellal to be withdrawn — that's in his character, he's been that way since she first met him — but it's not really like him to be so negative. Especially to someone he just met. But then again, left to his devices, Lucy imagines he'd probably currently be curled up in a corner wearing a dark cloak and a mask and pretending he wasn't just painfully shy by being awkwardly outspoken. So, she backtracks, it could definitely be worse that _someone_ being just a teeeeny bit grumpy in the morning. 

She finishes chewing and swallows loudly. "Anyway—" nah, the subject change wasn't _that_ obvious "—what about you guys? Care to give me an explanation as to how exactly we ended up here?" 

Levy's expression clears. "Lu-chan, I can fill in the gaps for you if you'd like. Which parts of last night _do_ you remember?" 

"Uh—" She glances away from the sight of Erza's hands twisting in her lap distractedly. "Just, um. Up until I bumped my head, I guess?" 

"Which time?" 

_What the hell._ "What do you mean, which time?!" 

Levy just smiles, trying very hard not to look guilty. Lucy's face falls into an unimpressed glare. " _Honestly_ ," she mutters. " _The first time_." 

"Oh, I see~" Levy's smile morphs into a grin that looks far too evil on her face. Lucy's guard goes up instantly as her best friend twists a lock of her blue hair ever-so-innocently. "So you mean, ah, before you kissed Na—?" 

Lucy jams her hand over Levy's mouth. "I REMEMBER THAT." When she hears Jellal chuckle quietly behind her, and sees Erza duck her head to hide her smile, her glare intensifies. "But _thanks_ , Levy." 

Ooh, she's totally smirking behind Lucy's hand. Damn her. 

Lucy scowls in humiliation as she returns her hand to her lap, looking down dejectedly at the plate in her lap. "Blame the concussion, please." 

Levy nods, looking beyond gleeful. "Yeah, we know," she says teasingly, drawing out each word. "But it doesn't make it any less funny. I mean, at the time, I was appalled—" God, Lucy'd believe that "—but looking back at it, it's beyond hilarious. I mean, Lu-chan," she leans forward conspiratorially, "that was your first kiss, right?" 

DAMN. HER. 

Lucy groans as Erza gasps. "Really? You gave your first kiss to _Natsu_?..." She drops her head to her palms by ways of admission, and the red-head lets out a low whistle. "You poor girl." 

"Look on the bright side, Lu-chan! At least Gray can't tease you about it anymore!" 

"Nah, I'm pretty sure he won't ever bring it up again," Jellal chimes in helpfully, "considering it was his forever-sworn archenemy that you kissed. What a lovely little sister you are, Lucy. Always so considerate." 

_That's enough sarcasm out of you, thanks._ But the best comeback she can come up with on the spot is an all-too-whiny, "You can j-just... shush." 

And that just makes the lot of them laugh at her. Ugh, please tell her she's just imagining the mortifying heat in her cheeks. She raises her hands to her face to hid the embarrassing blush. "Shut _up_ , you guys," she mumbles into her palms. 

Levy snickers and then, in a deep-voiced imitation of Natsu, suggestively says , "Make me, princess." 

"I will," Jellal joins in, pretending to be Lucy. 

Erza giggles at the high-pitched voice he puts on, tucking her hair behind her ear. "You're both terrible," she laughs, not bothering to hide her smirk this time. 

Somewhere in the back of her mind, a part of Lucy that isn't crying over all the abuse she's receiving, she notes that Erza's dropped the formal tone she had earlier. Just the idea of someone that exudes such a powerful aura being nervous is too endearing for words. But again, Lucy'd probably like her even more if she'd stop laughing at her. 

"Aren't you supposed to be my friends?" Lucy whines despondently. "You're all so mean!" 

"Now you're even starting to sound like Natsu, you know," Erza says thoughtfully. "He's always calling me and Gajeel mean." 

"Wow, _thanks_ , Erza," she grumbles morosely. "Just what I needed to hear." 

"Aw, it's not so bad, Lu-chan!" Her 'best friend' — a phrase that the Jury was now re-considering — pats her on the back , half-comforting, half-mocking. "Nobody's first kiss is ever perfect. I mean, look at Gray — his wasn't anything special." 

"Mine was as far away from perfect as I think it gets, Levy," she sighs, looking up again. But a smile was gradually starting to creep over her face. Going to pick up the cup and pills, she adds, "And with the way he messed that up, Gray's lucky he doesn't have to face her again at least." 

"If it means anything, I'd rather have _your_ first kiss than _mine_ ," Levy sighs dramatically, pushing her headband up her forehead with her wrist. 

Jellal splutters. "Y-you've kissed someone!?" 

Lucy smirks at his overreaction, the Ghost of Brawling Brothers Past hovering in her imaginary peripheral vision. "Isn't that funny, Jellal? The big brother's not so teasing when it's his sister, now, is he?" She may or may not have stuck her tongue out at him. "Don't you dare go all Gray on us. One of him is enough to deal with." 

"Who? When?" he demands to know, ignoring her completely. "I demand to know. Did you two know about this?!" 

Erza jumps when he rounds on her before raising an eyebrow, settling for a deadpan expression. "Why on earth would _I_ know about it?" 

"Oh, just ignore him, he'll shush eventually," Levy giggles. 

"I-I... I'll kill him," Jellal declares to no-one in particular, nodding to himself over some plan undoubtedly formulating in his mind. 

Levy watches him, amused, as he works himself into a panic. "I was _seven_ , Jellal. No need to go all crazy. It was Jet, actually; he and Droy were arguing about who cared more about me—" Lucy snorts with amusement 'cause absolutely nothing's changed "—and Jet stole the book I was reading to prove his point. And when I asked for it back, he made me promise only if I gave him a kiss." She giggles at the memory. "Me being the little prostitute I was, agreed. Then Droy got jealous and kissed me straight after." She laughs, shaking her head. "So typical." 

"D-Don't refer to yourself as a pros—" 

Lucy cuts over Erza's started outcry without hesitation, getting the feeling it's not uncommon. "That doesn't really count. You weren't even a decade old and I'm nearly two," she grumbles. "Erza, comfort me. How was _your_ first kiss?" 

"W-what? M-me?" Unprepared for the question, she squirms uncomfortably before changing her position so she's sitting cross-legged instead of on her knees. She wrings her hands again and looks everywhere except the teenagers on the sofa in front of her, very pointedly ignoring the three curious gazes on her. "I-I don't really remember..." 

Levy scoffs sceptically. 'Cause she's totally gonna believe that. "Really." 

Erza shrugs, not catching her eye. She purses her lips, frowning with an unreadable expression. Suddenly, she looks up and pins Jellal of people with a piercing stare. "Jellal, how was _your_ first kiss?" 

Initially taken aback, he settles into a good-natured shrug easily enough, not seeming to mind the question. "I don't know." 

"Oh, don't you avoid the question now, too," Lucy grumbles. 

"No, really, I don't know. I don't remember." 

"You don't just _forget_ your first kiss—" 

"Hey, _you_ might not, even after a concussion, but _I_ certainly can," he says with a small smile. "To be honest, I don't even know if I've had it—" 

Levy answers immediately. "Oh, you have. I walked in on it." 

"WHAT." 

Ignoring the outcries from both Erza and Lucy, Jellal just leans forward curiously. "Really?" he grins. "When? No, _who_?" 

Erza gives him a weird look, an indecipherable emotion veiled in her dark eyes. "How can you not _know_?" 

He shrugs again, glancing at her. "I might have forgotten." 

She cocks an eyebrow in disbelief, managing to look both dubiuos and interested at the same time. "You're kidding, right?" 

"N-No—" He looks confused for a moment, as if he wasn't expecting her to actually ask him so directly. Lucy can't imagine why — if she didn't know what he was talking about herself, she'd be just as freaked out as Erza. Especially considering how unhelpfully vague Jellal's been up until this point. 

"It's... kind of awkward to explain," he manages, looking pained. 

"Oh, shush," Levy interrupts before Erza's eyes can get any wider or more apologetic. "I'm sure you've guessed by now, Erza, but this guy—" she points at him with her thumb "—is about as melodramatic as it gets. See, it's actually very simple. Jellal here's lost all his memories before he was eleven." 

"Twelve," he corrects automatically. "You make the same mistake every time." 

"Then you should have just told her!" Levy huffs. 

Jellal laughs good-naturedly, and Lucy rolls her eyes at the two of them. 'Cause Levy _does_ make the same mistake every time. Erza, on the other hand, looks positively horrified. 

"Y-You've... lost your..." She shuts her mouth, as if the words themselves taste foul in her mouth. 

Catching her aghast expression, he goes on to elaborate before his little sister can a word in edgeways. "Like she said, just those years. I sometimes get flashbacks and stuff, and the doctor hasn't said it's permanent—" a 'yet' hangs in the air "—but as for now, childhood and co. is off limits." 

Lucy doesn't get how he can be damn blasé about it. If their positions were reversed, and she'd forgotten _her_ Mama... She bites her lip, not liking where her thought process is going — so she does the easy thing, and push it to the back of her mind. Erza seems to be of a similar mindset, staring at him with an indecipherable downturn of her lips. 

"It's not as bad as it sounds," he offers with a small grin. 

"H-How...?" Erza clears her throat. "How'd you lose them?" 

Levy, who just a second ago had been opening her mouth to join in the conversation, quickly shuts it, her smile sliding away. 

A silence falls on the room. 

"Lets just say," Jellal finally says, "I wasn't always the good boy you see in front of you. And it was all of my own doing. All right?" He smirks at Erza, his eyes narrowing dangerously, and leaves it at that. 

Lucy can't decide if he's flirting or threatening, but she's very inclined to go with the latter. Sometimes — most of the time — he's like this great big teddy bear without a thought-to-mouth filter (don't tell him she said that, he'd probably just get upset), but occasionally, out of the blue, he'll do something or say something or just get _this look_ , and Lucy's reminded of the wild, destructive, nightmare of a person he'd been two years ago. But she doesn't like to think about it, so, as usual, she pushes the thought out of her head almost before it's finished forming. 

And it works. It always works. 

Not letting the silence linger this time, Erza clears her throat again. "And is that why you—" She gestures silently to her eye (currently covered by her hair, which Lucy finds wonderfully ironic, considering her question). 

"Wha— Oh, this?" Jellal absent-mindedly touches the reddish tattoo bordering his right eye with his fingers, back to usual expression of mild exasperation. "Ah, no, this is from earlier. I got in an accident when I was younger, much younger, and got a damn nasty scar out of it. This—" he drops his fingers as if suddenly aware he was stroking the ink "—is just to cover it up." 

"O-Oh. I see. Can you still—" 

"I'm not blind," he deadpans. "Everyone asks that. It was just a couple burns." 

Erza doesn't reply, frowning. Instead, she gazes at the carpet, looking lost in thought as she wrings her hands in her lap almost viciously. Her expression is forlorn. Lucy silently agrees with her — he didn't need to snap back at her, did he? Although she could be wrong and Erza's worrying over something else entirely, like the idea of 'just a couple burns' scarring someone's face so badly that you'd need a face tattoo to cover them up. 

"Not everything, though," Levy finally re-enters the conversation, giving Jellal a curious look. "You dream memories sometimes, don't you? You know, once, Erza," she turns and flashes both Levy and Erza a wicked grin, tucking a stray strand of her messy hair behind her ear, "he came into our room and asked us if we'd ever lived in an igloo? Some weird dream about camping in the North Pole—" 

"You didn't have to tell them that—" 

She laughs over his interjection, eyes sparkling mischievously. "And then another time, Wendy and I managed to convince him we were all part of a travelling circus for two years—" 

" _Thank you_ , Levy, but I think we've heard enough!" Jellal laughs nervously along with her, looking very much like he's dreading what else she could tumble out of her mouth at any second. That's the thing about sisters; they can be pretty cruel when they want to be — and Jellal, the poor guy, he's got three of them. It's hardly surprising he's grown up to be so easy-going. Said care-bear rubs a hand over his face. "Merciless is what you are." 

"Don't, Jellal, she'll take it as a compliment," Lucy mumbles, still slightly stinging from Levy's teasing — and grossly inaccurate impersonation — earlier. 

"Soooo," Erza starts slowly, wiping her smile at Jellal's expense away, "your memories could — potentially — all return one day?" 

He shrugs a shoulder. "Potentially." 

"I mean," Lucy adds in, "if you dream about it, they're not exactly _lost_ , are they? Just... temporarily misplaced, or something. Like you put them in the wrong drawer, and your brain's just waiting to do some spring cleaning. Right?" 

Jellal and Erza simultaneously throw her an amused look, but Levy nods vigorously, thoroughly agreeing. "That's exactly it, Lu-chan! I've always wondered why, too." 

Lucy studies him with a scientific air. "It could be because you have triggers and stuff. Like, you do something or say something that reminds your brain of something in particular." 

"But surely," Erza chimes in, "he would have a flashback at that moment, not a dream about it." 

"I have flashbacks, too" Jellal tries to clear up, but his offering is completely ignored by both Lucy and Levy. Erza gives him a small, uneasy smile, which he doesn't return. (Lucy pretends she doesn't notice.) 

"It could be his brain is saving it," Levy ponders. "Or maybe he needs long-time exposure to the triggers, you know, like hanging around everyone to remind him." 

"I'm right here, you know—" 

"Shush, Jellal, we're trying to do some problem-solving here," Lucy brushes him away. 

He gives up and rests his chin on his hand exasperatedly. "By all means," he rolls his eyes, not even trying to hide his amused smirk. "Don't let me spoil your detective work." 

That's when Erza starts laughing, hiding her face behind a hand. "You're all so—" She doesn't continue, overcome by a fresh wave of laughter. Lucy, who can't stop smiling now that the red- head's started, gets the feeling this is a sight people don't get to see very often. Jellal leans back with crossed arms, observing her with an unreadable expression, but Levy starts giggling too. But soon enough, Erza calms down enough to show her face again, and as she wipes a tear from her eye, she raises an eyebrow at Lucy. "You really do remind me of Natsu, you know." 

Lucy's answering grin is wide and friendly. This time, it definitely feels like a compliment. "Thanks!" 

"Erzaaaa~!" As if on cue, Natsu's loud voice sounds from other room. 

She glances up at the sound of her name, her hair falling over one eye as she does. And that's when Lucy spots it — that there are actual, real, genuine tears in her eyes, not just from the laughter. Catching her gaze, Erza blinks rapidly before Lucy can so much as open her mouth, and within two seconds she's smiling again, a perfect mask of composure on her face. 

"I'm going to go see what he wants," she says pleasantly, getting up from the carpet and dusting herself off. 

Levy gives her an open smile. "Okay." 

She flashes a quick smile before walking out the room. Lucy watches her exit quietly, frowning. _Why... Why did Erza look like she was about to burst into tears? Why with that smile? Why?_ She just doesn't get it. She's missing something vital, some important piece of information that's left a gap in the jigsaw of the red-head's character, but worst of all, just that expression, her smile with _those eyes_ — it twists Lucy's heart and settles a weight in her stomach. 

The first thought that comes to her mind is, plainly and simply: _poor Erza._

But she doesn't have time to think properly about it, because as soon as Erza's left the room, Jellal leans close to Lucy and whispers in her ear, "When she first saw me, she had a panic attack, and ignored me for the rest of the night. 

She whips around to stare at him. His easygoing expression is replaced by a suspicious one, his hazel eyes narrowed. It suddenly dawns on her that that _was_ why she thought he was behaving weirdly towards Erza — he was being cautious. "What are you talking about, Jellal?" 

Levy bites her lip. "It's true, Lu-chan." Her smile is gone; instad, she just looks confused. "I don't know why— When we asked, she just laughed it off. But really, it was like she knew him from 

somewhere, and I was thinking maybe..." She glances at Jellal, who is now staring resolutely at the entrance to the room. "Do you think maybe she knew him before he lost his memories? O-or maybe— during?" 

She doesn't need to specify what she's referring to, Lucy knows. Two years ago. The blonde shakes her head, purely bewildered. "I don't have a clue." 

"Me neither," Jellal intones bitterly. "But you never know. I think we should be wary of her." 

Lucy blanches. "A-Are you kidding? It can't be anything _that_ bad— I mean, just look at her! She's nice! There's no way she knew you from— from _then_. You could just look like someone she knows. Or maybe she knew you before you were twelve—" 

"Then why wouldn't she just say so?" 

"Why wouldn't she 'just say so' if she knew you from— from two years ago, then? If she hung about with that crowd, too—" 

"It's not something you want to telling everybody," Jellal snaps back. "Trust me. I'd know. She wouldn't tell us if she was." 

"It—" Grasping at straws, Lucy exclaims, "It could just be a bad day! Maybe she was just a bit off last night or something. People have bad days." 

"Lu-chan..." Levy trails off worriedly. "I know you're always the first to defend somebody — and I'm not saying Jellal's right here, 'cause there's no proof either way, I know that — but I think... it wouldn't be unwise to... at least think about it for a bit." When Lucy opens her mouth to retaliate, Levy hastily adds, "Because we don't want a repeat of what happened, you know? He— Jellal's come so far since then. I just think... I think we should be careful, that's all." 

It's so typical of Levy, Lucy thinks, to manage to sound so rational saying something so... _irrational_. "I still think it's an overreaction. We've barely known her for an hour, and you're going to go and make suspicions like that about her straight off the bat? That's not fair, Levy." 

Levy bites her lip. "What wouldn't be fair is if Erza _is_ hiding what we think she's hiding, and we didn't find out until it was too late." 

"And what if she's not? Huh, Jellal? What if she's completely innocent?" 

Jellal barks out a strange sounding laugh. "If that's the case, Lucy, I give you leave to drown me in my guilt. But until then—" 

"She's a good person!" 

" _—until then,_ " he insists, "we just keep an eye on her. I know she's hiding something." 

When Lucy looks at Levy,s he can tell she doesn't feel completely at peace with it either, but Lucy supposes she can't really blame her. It's _her brother_ that she doesn't want to take a risk with here. For her, better safe than sorry. Even if it's playing into the palm of ridiculous paranoia. And all of a sudden, that image is back, of Erza and her awful sad smile— Lucy quickly pushes it out of mind before it can make her feel any worse. 

She sighs resignedly. "You don't trust anyone." 

"Can you blame me?" His eyes have that horribly cold, detached look again. It's gone as quick as it came. "Anyway, you said so yourself that there's clearly something going on with that girl." 

"No, that's not what I said. I just— I'm just saying that she might be struggling with something right now. It's not our business, Jellal. It might not even have anything to do with you." 

"If it turns out that way, I might even apologise," he says, his eyes back on the entrance. 

"Damn sure you will," Lucy mumbles. "I'll force you to. Stupid paranoid twerp. This is why we can't make friends, you know." 

"I'm telling you, that Erza is hiding something. Something important." He's back to lightly stroking his tattoo, seemingly unaware of it. "And I'm going to find out what." 

* * *

**{erza}**

She leans against the door, and takes a deep breath. 

_You need to calm down._

She knows. She knows. 

_Compose yourself. Wipe your tears. You promised, you promised— no more crying over that boy._

_Damn it, damn it, she knows!_

She clenches her teeth, squeezes her eyes shut, before taking another deep breath. Focusing on the breathing, focusing on anything, everything, that will help her regain her composure, help her forget, just for a second, who is sitting in the room next door. Just slow, deep breaths. In and out. That's all she needs. (God, it's been so long since she last cried, last cried like _this_.) 

After a few moments, she thinks she's good, but then she lowers her hand from her eyes and sees that she's trembling. It's enough to weaken her knees and send her sliding down the door. She brings her knees to her chest, folds in on herself, and ducks her head. Because, it's just— the image won't go away. Of him, just sitting there, casually leaning his head on his elbow, smiling and laughing, looking like he doesn't have a care or worry in the world, not a weight on his shoulders. Looking so _happy_. It breaks her heart. It makes her feel like she's flying. It just _hurts_. 

"Go away, go away, get out of my head," she moans quietly into the crook of her elbow. She promised she wouldn't cry over him anymore. 

_You lied._

**{to be continued}**


	7. Tales Around the Kitchen Table

_you'll never be mine— ah,  
but you've got my eyes _

Erza does eventually return while dragging a half-dressed Natsu in tow, and immediately demands that someone start cooking. 

Twenty minutes, a suspiciously sexy apron, and one fire alarm later, Lucy finds herself sitting at a large granite table surrounded by six other teenagers all either stuffing their face with food or staring at it awkwardly. She purses her lips. There's only so much stuffing one's face that can be pulled off with such a meagre lunch ( _breakfast_ , Erza insists) of cereal, fruit, and eggs-on-toast. Still, she's not complaining. (Out loud.) 

She tugs at the red T-shirt she's wearing, courtesy of Natsu (much to Gray's consternation). While she's refusing to admit how over-aware she is about this new indirect skin-ship with a radical pinkette, Lucy will admit that the material is comfortable. Erza _did_ offer to lend her something from her own wardrobe next door, and now Lucy's regretting declining that particular gesture. However, she does concede that the subsequently offered hairbrush was a definite life-saver. 

The small talk that accompanies breakfast mirrors her dignity: it's non-fucking-existent. 

Glancing around the table, she distracts herself once again by surveying the absurd company she's keeping there's morning. There's Natsu, who's loudly inhaling his food at the speed of light. Erza chews on some fruit. Levy's buttering a toast with utmost care. Juvia's watching Gray eat; and Gray's trying very hard to not be aware of it. The most comfortable of the party seems to be Jellal. He's doing what he does best — looking mildly pained — but the way he's resting his head on his elbow suggests that he's at ease with the awkward atmosphere. 

Lucy's willing to bet she's just become desensitised to his natural uneasiness. 

Jellal surprises her then by shifting on his stool to address his sister. Levy, in turn, raises an eyebrow over the toast she's currently taking an over-sized bite of, and lets out a sound that sounds kind of like, "Wah?" 

Lucy fights not to smirk at the likeness her stuffed cheeks have to a chipmunk. That smirk immediately gets wiped off her face and metaphorically stomped on when Jellal asks his question, looking at Levy with curious hazel eyes. 

"What was my first kiss like?" 

Gray chokes on his orange juice. 

Jellal shrugs sheepishly in response to Gray's disgusted expression. "I want to know. She says it 

was in the hospital." 

Natsu finally comes up for breath. "What's this first kiss crap about?" He runs a hand through his damp pink hair and takes a bite of toast big enough to halve his slice. 

Lucy stares, trying not to let her eyes get too round. Who _eats_ like that? 

"We were talking about the—" Levy breaks off to clear her throat suggestively and send Natsu a wicked smirk "—... _events_ of last night, and _somehow_ , I don't know how it happened, how weird, the conversation just strayed to the topic of first kisses—" and she actually has the gall to giggle, _damn her_ "—and we ended up talking about Jellal's. And it turns out he's managed to block it out of his mind." 

"That's not quite what happened, but yeah," Jellal offers. 

Natsu brushes her joke at his expense aside. Lucy's not putting it past him to just not notice; he does seem the type to not even acknowledge things like that. "Hospital, hnn~? You get some nurse action or somethi—" 

"Thanks for that, _no_ , I did not, _Levy_ ," Jellal shoots out in a quick breath, eyed alarmed as if looking for conformation. 

Lucy can't help herself. "You're looking kind of guilty there, Jellal." 

He shifts in his chair again, eyebrows drawing together. 

Levy rubs her chin as if contemplating. "Well. You'd be surprised at the wily charms of this boy right here," she laughs, looking blissfully ignorant of his pained grimace. "No, it wasn't a nurse. As if. What kind of nurse would—?" 

When she catches sight of Natsu's stupid leer, she cuts off immediately. 

"Something's missin' here, okay. You're saying no nurses whatsoever, but he wouldn't be pretending to forget unless it was something _really_ good. Right? I'm right, right?" 

"Not right!" Lucy huffs before she can help herself. When he directs his confused smile to her, she just gestures towards Jellal as if deferring the job of explaining to him. It's not her story to tell. (And she feels perfectly comfortable with Natsu looking at her while she's wearing his shirt, okay?) 

But before Jellal can so much as open his mouth, Natsu butts in. "By the way, man, I've been meaning to ask — your tattoo's great and all, but why the face?" 

So rude! Lucy sighs and leans back in her chair, preparing for the fallout. If she had a jewel every time someone asks about the tattoo... 

Jellal scrutinises Natsu for a second before taking a deep breath, looking like a teacher who's taught this lesson way too many times already. "A couple years ago—" 

"Oh, story time, then?" 

"How many years?" 

Lucy starts, surprised. Natsu and Erza exchange blank stares for a second before the he lets out a bark of laughter. 

Jellal just sends them both a weird look. "I don't know. Six, maybe?" 

Juvia shakes her head, finally speaking up. "Nine. Juvia remembers Wendy's birthday in the hospital." 

It ticks Lucy off more than she cares to admit that he's so casual about such an important event in his life, even if it's just remembering facts somebody else relayed to him. He cared about it once, and that _means_ something. She glares, eyes accusatory. "You'd think you'd remember something like that, Jellal." 

He shoots her a sarcastic look. "Hilarious." 

"I wasn't making an amnesia joke, idiot." 

"Is no-one going to tell me this naughty nurse story?" 

"I don't think you want to call it that, Natsu," Levy cuts in. "Considering he'd be seven that would be all kinds of illegal. But yeah, we all got into this accident and—" 

"What accident?! A-ah—..." Erza gives an uneasy smile when Jellal frowns at her continued interruptions. "Sorry." 

The question hangs in the air. 

"Housefire," he says shortly. Dismissively. "Killed out parents." 

A sudden hush settles in the kitchen. Natsu leans back in his seat, wincing. "We probably shouldn't have—" he murmurs, his tone apologetic. 

Juvia is quick to shake her head, and her curls bounce around her shoulders. "It was a long time ago," she insists. "It's alright now." 

Lucy glowers into her cereal, mood worsening. Even if the Loxars don't mind talking about their parents' death, _she_ does. And from the way his shoulders tense and his eyebrows draw together, she can tell that Gray feels the same way. 

Levy clears her throat, trying to dispel the tense atmosphere. "Wendy was only four at the time, and we all managed to get out except for her, see— ah, and our parents. But—" a smile creeps onto her face "—Mr. Hero here—" and she pats her brother on the back, startling him "—ran back into the flames and brought Wendy out." Her smile is a full-blown grin. "He saved her life." 

Jellal glances up, aware of everyone's sudden gazes on his. A modest smile sneaks its way onto his face. "I'm sure Juvia would have done the same if she could have. It's our job to protect our little sister, after all's said and done." 

Juvia smiles, disregarding her slight flinch at the memory. "The fireman would not let Juvia re- enter the building, so she was very thankful when Jellal was so brave." 

Juvia's flinch does not go unnoticed by Lucy. Incidents like the fire always leave scars, she supposes, even if they aren't visible to the human eye. She always assumes that the Loxars got over the death of their parents so easily, that it didn't bother them at all. And then it's little things like this — like a flinch from a girl who hates to hold back her emotions, or a quietly-spoken friend trying her best to fill every silence — that reminds her that no matter how well someone covers up the marks, they're still there below the surface. Ha, _well_. She knows that well enough. Some things just change you without giving you any say in it, and then leave you to pick up the pieces alone in the dark. 

She sees a flash of a smile and hears the echo of a laugh, and immediately locks them back up in the back of her mind. Back where they belong. 

Jellal's voice snaps her out of her thoughts. 

"Anyway, after that stunt, I got some burn scars all along this side of my face. The tattoo is just to hide them." He touches the ink that twists down his cheek. 

Natsu's grin could blind. "So cool! You suppose I could get one, too?" 

"Natsu!" Again, the words are out before Lucy knows it. "Try a little more sensitivity, maybe?" 

But Jellal's got a small smile on his face and Natsu's laughing at her already. Lucy rolls her eyes and pointedly looks away from him. Her gaze comes to rest on Erza, who's examining the sliced strawberry on her fork with an unreadable expression, lost in thought. 

"And I'm not lying! I've forgotten it all," Jellal continues with his story before Natsu can ask. "Everything from before I was twelve is gone." 

Natsu nods. "Sounds legit." 

...What? 

Later, Lucy will come to the conclusion that it's simply because he confuses her. That's all. She just doesn't get him, and that's why she's flustered, and that's the end of it. But evens ao, the little smile that curves her lips has to be hidden by her palm before anyone can notice. Because, fine, she'll admit it, his reaction — his automatic, unquestioning _acceptance_ — may have looked kind of cool. 

"But then," he continues around a mouthful of food, "how do you know you kissed some girl while you were in the hospital? If you really lost your memory?" 

Ah. The _question_. 

Juvia giggles as Levy deadpans, "Because Juvia, Wendy and I walked in on it." 

"What?" This is news to Jellal. He gives his sister a flustered glance, his hazel eyes incredulous. "All _three_ of you!?" 

"And Grandine," Juvia corrects. "Jellal was not very discreet." 

"Wait, wait, wait," Natsu interrupts at Jellal's grimace. He's got a wide smirk on his face and for the third time, Lucy notices how unusually sharp his canines are. It makes his already boyish grin look positively _impish_. "Start from the beginning," he insists, inadvertently deeming her the storyteller. 

Lucy indulges in a smile at his blatant enthusiasm. Resting a hand on her chin, she winks at her best friend. "And leave nothing out." 

"I won't, Lu-chan," Levy shoots back. Clearing her throat with the theatrics of a circus showman, she launches into the tale. "The four of us were visiting for Wendy's birthday, you see. It was, ah, two weeks, I think?" She thows a questioning look at Jellal, but thinks better of it when he answers her with a glower as if to say _you're asking me?_ "Two or so weeks, we think, maybe, after the fire." 

Aaaand Lucy's grumpy again. The fire happened on 30th November. Wendy's birthday is on the 

11th. A simple sum would have told Levy that it was twelve days after — but of course, she doesn't care, why would she? It was only the death of her _mother_. Not like that's important or anything. Not like it should _matter_. 

Gray scoffs under her breath, silently agreeing with her. 

"Jellal was in the kids' room — you know, the one they keep exclusively for the sick children? It's got rainbows and unicorns and little suns with ice-creams on the wall. It was the room for the in- and-out cases so other than us, it was totally empty at the time—" She pauses and then giggles when Jellal raises his hand like he would in a classroom. 

"You seem to remember this all perfectly for someone who was six at the time," he smiles in a pained sort of way. 

"I guess I just have a good memory—" 

"Makes up for yours, eh?" Natsu booms. 

Jellal shoots him a withering look. "Ha." 

"Anyway, so, see, the three of us — that's me, Juvia, Wendy — walk into this ward with Grandine, some girls' day out or whatever, right? And we know it's completely deserved except for Jellal and this one other girl—" 

"What did she look like?" 

"Erza!" Natsu growls hypocritically, before Jellal can get a word in. "Let her tell the story already!" 

Lucy giggles despite herself. He's just repeated exactly what Levy said to him. And so does Erza, who holds up her hands in apology. 

"No, it's fine," Levy insists. "Except, umm, I can't really remember if I'm honest. I think she might have blond hair? Maybe?" Levy squints into the air as if the answer is written on the far wall of the kitchen. 

"Juvia remembers! She wasn't blond at all, Levy. She had dark red hair — kind of like yours, Erza-san, but much darker, almost brown..." She shakes her head slightly. "Um, light skin, hospital gown. That's all that comes to mind." 

"Ah." Erza nods. "Thanks. I-I suppose that helps set the scene." 

"Right!" Levy's hair-band slips down her forehead as she nods emphatically, releasing some of the messy blue strands that flat-out refuse to be constrained. "I'm sure Jellal was wondering the same thing." 

"I'l admit I was wondering whether she was hot or not," Jellal admits, "but hearing she was eight years old is kind of a turn off." 

Lucy scoffs loudly as Gray and Natsu both smirk and seem to share a 'guy moment' with Jellal. She rolls her eyes at their wolfish grins. _Idiots_. 

"Back to topic," Gray insists, failing to keep a straight face. "What happened then?" 

"Is it suitable for breakfast chat?" Natsu chuckles. 

"Shut it." Jellal shoots them a look despite the smirk lingering on his lips. "Go on, Levy. You walk in and this girl and me are in the middle of the room. And...?" 

"And?" she asks, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "Oh, I don't know, it's kind of fuzzy. But it _looked_ like you were leaning down, trying to giving her a little smooch in all your hospital- gowned glory, very romantic—" She covers her mouth to muffle a giggle "—And she's facing the door, so when we walk in she looks straight at us for this one awful second before she goes and jumps away from Jellal— no, _leaps_ , and then she—" Levy starts laughing again, harder this time. "And Jellal's just standing there, stooped down, bright red under this god-awful mop of bright blue hair, eyes screwed shut, and—" 

When she starts cackling too much to talk, Juvia takes the reigns, feigning disinterest over the wicked smile on her own face. "The girl lifted her hand as she was going to stroke Jellal's face or something, and Juvia thinks this must have been what Jellal thought as well because he gave her this cute little smile, but then all of a sudden—" 

" _BAM_!" Levy slams her hand on the table, wiping a tear of mirth from her eye. "She goes a-and... _punches_ him, right in the f-face! Knocks him flat on his butt!" 

Natsu hoots as Juvia gives up trying to keep back her own laughter. Lucy gives into a little chuckle, although she isn't sure if it's over Jellal's misfortune or Levy's meltdown into a fit of giggles. Gray tries and fails to hide his amusement behind a cough. 

And Jellal, the poor soul — well, he's too shocked to be embarrassed so he looks around a little desperately. And it's only when his gaze comes to rest on Erza, who throughotu the story had demurely been picking at her fruit, does the blush on his face begin to rise. She's hiding her face behind her hand, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter almost as intense as Levy's. 

His cheeks get pinker and pinker. 

When Levy starts to clutch at her side, gasping for breath, Lucy's set off all over again. The story isn't even that freaking _funny_ , but seeing the Loxar sisters lose control like this is too hilarious. 

"K-Kiss and run," Juvia cackles, poking a hapless Jellal in the arm. "Perhaps it's for the better that you've lost that memory—" She pauses for a shaking breath, wiping her eye with a finger. " _Wooh_! Juvia would _die_ if that had been her first kiss." She pokes him again, grin wide and teasing. 

"I..." Jellal sighs and shuts his eyes. No matter how hard he tries to keep his composure, everyone knows that his male pride and dignity aren't going to stay intact quite so easily. Struggling with coming up with something, he gives up and rests his head in his hands. "I don't quite know what to say," he mumbles eventually. 

"You'll get over it, buddy," Natsu consoles him. His grin warps wickedly. "Shouldn't be too hard since you went and forgot all about it." He snots at his own crappy joke, and to Lucy's surprise, Gray joins in. So they _can_ get along about something, at least... 

"You know my memory's not permanently gone," Jellal whines. "You can stop with the amnesia jokes." 

Pity it's only over making fun of Jellal. 

"That's not fair," Natsu defends himself. "We only just started. These guys have had years, I only just met you today." 

"Yesterday," Gray corrects. 

"Shut up," Natsu retorts. 

Ah. Well, it was nice while it lasted. Lucy supposes. She leans forward so as not to interrupt their bickering over her shoulders, already feeling used to it (much to her perturbation). And everyone goes back to their breakfast in a markedly better mood, wide grins all around the table (except for Jellal's face, which is still rather red). 

Ah, the poor guy. He didn't expect to be mortified when he asked Levy to tell him about it, after all. Lucy smiles into her food. She was unusually cruel in the telling of it, too. Well, unusually cruel for _Levy_ , and we are talking about the girl who gets upset when someone folds the corner of a page instead of using a bookmark. She's too sweet for her own good — _most_ of the time. 

The thought sparks a chain reaction. "Where's Gajeel?" she finds herself wondering. 

"He's downstairs," Erza elaborates, scarlet hair falling over an eye as she glances at Lucy. "Left as soon as he woke up, mumbling something about wanting to start work on the truck as soon as possible." 

"Pantherlily," Lucy confirms, shaking her head at the fuzzy memory. "I kind of remember it breaking down. Although I could have just guessed that. It doesn't have the best track record; it seems to break down every other day." 

"If there's anyone who can fix it, it's Gajeel," Erza smiles reassuringly. "He's been int he garage all morning." 

Huh? 

"Garage...?" Lucy raises an eyebrow. She throws a surreptitious glance around the room as if the walls might hold some clues. "Erza, where exactly _are_ we?" 

"Natsu's apartment." 

"Yeah, no, I know," she backtracks. "I mean, where is this?" She gestures around with flailing arms. "Magnolia? Hargeon? The moon? I was unconscious when we got here, remember?" 

Understanding dawns on her. "Oh, of course! Sorry. Yes. This," she announces grandly, "is Fairy Tail." 

And then goes back to her food as if this explains everything. 

"I—... Uh..." Let's try again. She happily interrupts the boys' bickering. "Gray. Where are we?" 

"I, uh... Fairy Tail?" he tries. 

"Yeah, that tells me nothing," Lucy deadpans. 

He shrugs. "Then I dunno." 

She blinks at him. How can she be related to this idiot? "In all the time you've been here, it didn't occur to you once to ask someone where we were?" 

"Nope." 

"You have to be kidding me." 

"I mean, does it really matter?" 

She almost chokes on her words. "Y-Yes! _It matters!_ God, Gray, one day we really will get kidnapped by some man-eating lunatic and you'll go your grave with a smile on your face." 

"Right." He throws her a weird look. "Sure." 

"Don't look at me like that." 

As if to make a point of it, he looks her up and down very pointedly before starting as if he's suddenly remembered something. "How do you feel?" he asks abruptly, eyes cautious. 

"What?" Lucy tilts her head in confusion. Why would he ask something so random? But then it hits her, _of course that's why,_ and she rolls her eyes in irritation. Having realised what he's referring to, she snaps, "I'm fine, Gray." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Stop asking. I've already said once—" 

"I only asked once." 

She scoffs, glancing back at her cereal to twirl the spoon round broodingly. "Twice, actually. In Natsu's room, too." 

His voice takes on an exasperated tone. "Don't mind me, just worrying about my sister's health here, no big deal." 

"It _is_ a big deal to me, idiot!" she hisses, forgetting for a moment where she is. Clearing her throat with a surreptitious glance around, Lucy settles her gaze back on Gray. "It's not bad to worry about me. That's normal. But you do it too much, too often, and it's _suffocating_ , Gray. It's bad that you're worrying over something so stupid, and— and non-existant. I'm not going to fall to the floor and—" She cuts off at his guilty expression. Lucy's anger spikes — who the hell does he think he is? "Stop that! I hate it, you're too over-protective. Drop it already." 

He stays silent but his scowl speaks volumes. When he looks down at his empty plate, Lucy takes it as a sign to return to her own half-finished food. 

Leave it to Gray to pull something like this. Honestly, she should have known. One little bump to the head, a night of deep sleep, and he thinks she's going to have a seizure or something. And hey, maybe if his worry was actually grounded in something, maybe if it had _factual basis_ she wouldn't be so pissed off, but what he's so anxious about isn't even a _thing_. She's not sick anymore. It's unnecessary. 

It's absolutely ridiculous. _He's_ ridiculous. Lucy pouts at the soggy cereal dejectedly, unaware of an audience to her sulking. 

"What's wrong with you?" 

Startled, she glances up to meet Natsu's glare. "W-What? Nothing." 

He raises an eyebrow at Lucy's clearly intimidation flinch. "Did we not establish that I wasn't a cannibal already?" 

She immediately bristles. "I'm fine. Will people stop fussing over me already?" 

Her voice is too loud. All the teenagers in the kitchen pause their conversation and glance at her before disregarding her outburst. She bites her lip and grins uneasily at Natsu. "Sorry. Sore head. I'm okay, really." 

He shakes his head as if it's a non-issue. "Whatever, it was just a joke." 

I know. Sorry." 

He laughs. "It's fine. You don't need to say sorry." 

"I didn't mean—" 

He cuts Lucy off with a laugh. "Drop it already!" 

"Sor—" His smile is infectious. Lucy covers her hand with a mouth to pretend she isn't grinning back at him. He chuckles when she does, and she mumbles, "Force of habit, I guess." 

He appraises her for a silent second, expression unreadable, and Lucy tries not to squirm uncomfortably. Not only is he staring at her while she's in his stupid shirt, but his damn slanted charcoal eyes are _unnerving_ — "You're weird." 

"U-Uh..." Well, how is she supposed to respond to that? As she scrambles for an answer, inspiration hits her and she finds herself blurting out, "Hey, _you_ must know where we are!" She sits up straight, suddenly eager. "Natsu, what's Fairy Tail? I mean, I get that it's where we are but I don't really know what it is, you know? So I don't suppose you could explain it to me—?" When he gives her a look akin to the one Erza gave her when she asked her, Lucy backtracks. "As far as I know, it's another name for a bedtime story, Natsu. I've never heard of Fairy Tail, the _place_." 

His answering laugh makes her scowl, at which he just grins wider. 

"Sure, I guess." He rolls his eyes teasingly. "All of this—" he raises his hands in a pseudo-grand gesture "—is Fairy tail. Like, the apartment complex. Well, I say complex, but it's really just two buildings, this one and the one across the steet. That's Fairy Hills, it's just for housing and stuff—" 

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Lucy tries to process the new information. "So... Fairy Tail's the name for some residential area?" 

"Oh, yeah! I forgot you were doing that whole sleeping beauty act when we got here—" 

"Act?" she growls. "To casually remind you, I was kind of unconscious." 

"Oh, I remember that alright. And I'll have you know that you weren't as unconscious as you seem to think you were." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"I don't want to think about it. Let's just say it left scars." He ignores her confused expression and launches back into his explanation. "See, there's this bar downstairs — well, I guess you could call it that, but it's also accommodation so, uh, what do you call it— an _inn_? Whatever, that works. The bar-inn-thing is on the ground floor, right below us. 'Cause we're on the first floor, and that's Erza's apartment across the hall, but anyway—" 

He pauses as he gulps some orange juice. Lucy rests her chin in her hand again, crossing her legs to get comfortable. She's starting to understand his personality a bit better, she thinks. Maybe. He's got this way of talking that's all fire and show and full-force-forward-thrust, and it's almost kind of... _addictive_ to listen to. It's like he's really passionate about what he's talking about, and there's nothing she loves more than seeing someone talk as openly as he is. At home, no-one ever sounds like they care so much — about _anything_. In an environment of restraint, there's only so much 

apathy you can show before you start to feel it as well. 

And that's why she can't help but smile as he sets the empty glass back on the table and enthusiastically resumes his explanation. "Okay, so the name of the bar downstairs Fairy Tail, right? You saw all that, but there's also—... What? Why are you shaking your head?" 

She laughs at him. "I was passed out, remember?" 

"Oh, yeah, yeah." He gentle taps his forehead with his palm. "Right. There's a bunch of people who hang out and drink downstairs, all that usual stuff, but you've also got your residents, and then your visitors, and the odd drop in or two. That's basically what it is— well, not _basically_ , I think it's actually pretty accurate, yeah. And Makarov's hired a bunch of people who take work and—" 

"Natsu!" He exudes way too much energy, it's ridiculous! "Who's Makarov?" 

"Master?" Natsu ruffles his spiky hair again. "He the owner. Well, co-owner but really, it's him who owns it— Actually, I suppose he does own Fairy Tail, I _guess_ —" 

"Get to the point, Natsu." She's smirking 'cause she's somehow already used to his scattered way of talking. 

"Right. Sorry." He beams and Lucy wonders if he ever stops smiling. She kind of hopes not because his grin is so endearing (and a little cute, because _spiky canines_ ). "In all rights and stuff," Natsu continues, "it's Master who's the owner. But a couple of months ago — seven, I think? — we had some trouble with, uh..." He scratches the back of his head sheepishly. "Basically, Macao got fired and he needed a job, so Master offered him co-ownership of the bar—... You're looking at me weird again," he interrupts himself, shooting her what she now recognises to be his iconic raised eyebrow. 

"I don't know who Macao is," Lucy laughs despite herself. 

"Oh, he's my adoptive dad." Natsu says it so offhandedly that Lucy has to repeat the words in her head to make sure she hears right the first time. 

"R-Right..." She doesn't have a chance to say anything further before he's off again, rambling at the speed of light. Lucy settles for sipping her water as Natsu complains about the newest worker 'Master' Makarov has hired for the bar, fiery words emphasised with exaggerated facial expressions that make her giggle. 

For the first time in a long time, Lucy's smiling and can't _stop_. Natsu's enthusiasm is proving to be catching, and God knows a little more positive energy in her life won't go amiss. 

"But it's okay," he continues, barely pausing fro breath in his tirade. "Because Mira will kick the new kid into shape one way or another. Either that or it's like, don't let the door hit you one the way out, you know?" He chuckles to himself. "To be honest, I kind of feel sorry for them. Mirajane is really sweet but I'm not kidding when I say she can be terrifying when she wants to be. I mean..." He stops, looking like he's reliving a memory. Suddenly, he shivers, and throws Lucy an alarmed look. "She's a demon in disguise, I'm telling you. You know, this one time some dude was gonna perform – you know, sing and stuff – and Mira–" 

Natsu stops mid-sentence, his mouth snapping shut as his eyes widen comically to resemble saucers. His gaze flits between Lucy, who furrows her brow at his weird behaviour, and something behind her. 

Before she can turn around to investigate the source of his consternation, a furious voice snaps, 

"What are _you_ doing here!?" 

The conversation in the kitchen silences instantly. Lucy slowly turns around along with everyone else to see two new figures standing in the doorway, one of whom is glaring at the group with such ferocity that a new wave of terror settles in the room like a blanket. 

Lucy's stomach drops as she gulps. _Just when things were going well..._


	8. Hurricane Wendy

_life will pass me by if i don't open up my eyes?_   
_well, that's fine by me_

The taller of the two is a young teenage boy with spiky black hair sticking up in all directions. If it weren't for the difference in length and colour, Lucy would be tempted to say it resembled Natsu's mess of pink. His bangs hood his dark eyes, expression uninterested, like he's bored to be here. He's sporting ripped jeans and a dark green t-shirt, and despite the fact that the kid can't be more than five feet tall, Lucy's surprised to notice he's quite lean. 

Beside him stands a much shorter, _much_ older man dressed in an eccentric orange and blue outfit — honesty, she's more inclined to call it a costume. Small tufts of white hair stick out form under his ridiculous striped hat, matching his matching his monster of a moustache. His crazy attire, coupled with his gnome-like presence, would have had her giggling were it not for the positively enraged look on his face. 

The old man's black eyes are glued to Natsu, his face pulled back in a ferocious scowl. Natsu cowers in his chair soundlessly. The tiny man's glare shifts to Erza, who seems to have frozen in her position. Her eyes are wide, her expression a mix between wariness and... guilt? 

Lucy has no idea what to make of their reactions to the new arrivals, but she has a feeling there's more to the tiny stranger than meets the eye. 

"Would either of you care to explain," the elderly man growls, "why exactly you're up here, and not helping Mira downstairs?" 

Natsu cruses under his breath. Lucy glances from him to Erza agian in confusion. The old man and the boy have barely taken account of anyone in the room but Erza and Natsu — she doesn't know whether to be thankful or offended... 

The assailant's eyes narrow further. "How exactly do you think I should react after leaving the busy work going on downstairs only to come here and find the both of you _relaxing_? Natsu? Erza?" 

They both flinch when he says their names. 

Erza clears her throat nervously. "I've finished my work already?" she offers uncertainly. 

He scrutinises her for a moment before his gaze whips to Natsu. "And you, boy?" 

The person in question opens his mouth and closes it again, seeming lost for words. _A fish,_ Lucy thinks distractedly. 

"Actually, I've already done the work for you, Natsu-nii." The dark-haired boy finally enters the conversation. All eyes turn to him and he just blinks down at the old man, his expression blank. "I knew he was busy," he defends himself half-heartedly, seeming mildly uncomfortable with all the attention trained on him. 

"Wait, what?" Erza suddenly pipes up. "You what?" She turns to Natsu. "He what?" Glancing back at the young teen, she yells, "You _what_?!" 

Before anyone can react, she's out of her chair and dragging a helpless Natsu out of his. 

"How _dare_ you make your little brother do your dirty work for you, Natsu!" Erza apprehends. "You stupid lazy ignorant idiot! I taught you better! You _moron_!" She continues her heated tirade as she pulls him towards the door; the boy and old man simply side-step to give her room, not looking as surprised as Lucy feels they should. 

_Is this normal behaviour for around here?_

Lucy hears what she guesses must be the front open and close. Even after the audible click, her furious voice is still audible: "Did you really think you could get away with that? What kind of a big brother _are_ you!?" Nobody moves until Erza's wrath — "You need to learn a lesson in responsibility! Set a better example! He looks _up_ to you, Natsu!" — has trailed out of earshot. 

An uncomfortable silence settles in the kitchen. 

"Well, nice to meet you all!" 

Lucy's eyes snap back to the old man, who's still standing in the doorway. His previous irritation seems to have been replaced with a calm smile. He glances around the room, taking in their bewildered expressions. "And welcome to Fairy Tail," he adds cryptically, before turning and going back the way he came. 

Lucy hears the front door click shut again. 

She glances around the table anxiously, thoroughly mystified. Everyone seems to be wearing a similar expression of confusion. Levy catches her eye with a raised eyebrow and Lucy shrugs, nonplussed. 

"Uh..." The dark-haired boy finally looks directly at them. It irks Lucy a little but she hushes that part of her, eager not to start up any more absurd drama. "Who are you?" the boy asks, flipping his hair out of his eyes absent-mindedly as he approaches the granite table. "And why are you in my house?" 

"Um," Gray starts. 

"Well, we, uh..." I continue. "We're like— uhh..." 

"Hi," Jellal rounds off awkwardly. 

The boy stands behind Natsu's empty stool, splaying his hands out on the table in front of him. He turns and stares at Lucy blankly. All she can do is gaze, not really sure what to make of his scrutiny. 

Eventually, he shrugs. "You Natsu's friends?" 

She breaths out a quiet sigh of relief. "Yeah, we—" 

" _Hell no_!" Gray interrupts fiercely. 

"Ignore him," she quickly covers up. "Natsu said we could stay the night. Hi." She smiles, decidedly ignoring her fuming brother. "I'm Lucy. 

The suspicion leaves the kid's eyes but he still doesn't smile. "I'm Romeo. Romeo Conbolt." He looks around slowly as he speaks, taking in his new guests. "If Natsu said it was cool, Dad'll be fine with it. Stay as long as you want," he finishes, gaze coming to rest on Levy. 

She gives him a nervous smile. "Thanks, but, um— We should probably get home soon anyway, we have people waiting for us, and... stuff..." 

Juvia nods. "Wendy and Grandine will be worrie—" She cuts off suddenly, her eyes widening in realisation. "Wendy... will be _worried_..." 

Lucy and her friends all freeze in unison. 

_Shit._

She had completely forgotten about her! And from the looks on everyone else's faces, they had as well. Dread settles in her stomach as a mixture of worry and guilt churns in her gut. Memories of the last time sweet little Wendy was worried haunt Lucy's thoughts and she gulps, shaking her head to dispel the sudden distress. 

"Well... shit," Gray says, voicing everyone's thoughts. "W-We should probably— aw, _shit."_ He buries his face in his hands. 

Juvia gets up shakily. "J-Juvia will call Wendy..." 

"If she's left the telephone intact," Jellal mumbles as his sister leaves the table. 

Lucy doesn't think she could move if she wanted to. Guilt — or maybe it's fear, which is just as justified — roots her to the spot. Poor Wendy. Or, no, poor _house._ Poor... Poor _them_ when Grandine gets her hands on them. 

"What's wrong with you lot?" Romeo flips into Natsu's recently-vacated stool, glancing around with detached curiosity. 

"Levy re-adjusts her hair-band, shooting him a troubled look. "My sister's probably really worried right now. See, no-one thought to call her and let her no where we were for the night." 

"Well, how old is she?" 

Levy gives a tiny flinch. "Thirteen." 

To Lucy's surprise, Romeo snorts dismissively — it's the most expression he's shown since he entered the room. "I'm sure she can take care of herself, man, the girl's not a kid. And no offense, but what's your name?" 

Levy blinks as if brought back to a more rational train of thought. "No, no, it's fine. I'm Levy. And uh, that's Jellal — my brother — and Gray, Lucy's twin." She points to them in turn. "And honestly, it's not really her we're worried about..." 

"Whenever Wendy gets worried," Jellal explains, hazel eyes narrowed in a frown, "she kind of goes a little... crazy." 

Gray gives Romeo a dark look when the boy opens his mouth to argue. "We aren't joking, kid. It's like a— a _hurricane's_ been through the house." 

"Wait, seriously?" Romeo's bored expression suddenly falls away to be replaced with apprehensiveness. his eyebrows meet in a light frown, scepticism still etched in his eyes. 

Lucy nods numbly in reply, her gaze falling to the kitchen table. "A-And she gets worried a lot." 

"You guys have got to be over-exaggerating," Romeo says uncertainly. "I mean, she's just a thirteen year old girl—" 

You didn't see it last time," Levy cuts in quietly. "She broke the car." 

"She broke the—!?" Romeo blanches. 

Lucy cringes, remembering the tears as Wendy held Pantherlily's crooked bonnet in her hands, having wrenched it right off in an effort to help Jellal fix the engine last time it broke down. "That was awful." 

Romeo's eyes are wide as he stares at Lucy. "Jesus, what's this girl like? He scans the kitchen, taking in everyone's morbid expressions. "Hell, I can't even tell if you're worried about her of for what's in her path..." 

When she looks up at him, she's truck by how different he looks when he's lost the mask of disdainful disinterest; the bangs have slipped back to reveal more of his dark eyes, which are actually round and expressive. His place cheeks are coloured with a very light flush as he nervously purses his lips. All of a sudden, it strikes her that his expression resembles that of Natsu — that even though they aren't related, they share expressions seamlessly. 

"Not to change the subject or anything," she says quickly, "but how old are you?" 

He flashes her a confused look. "Fourteen. Why?" 

Before she has a chance to answer — or rather, come up with an excuse for her sudden burst of curiosity — everyone's attention is reverted to the doorway when Juvia comes back into the room, looking shaken. 

"They're, um..." She huffs out a nervous little laugh. "They're coming here." 

The effect of her words is sudden and instantaneous. Jellal jumps up from his stool in alarm; Levy claps her hands over her mouth; and Gray lowers his head to the table with a defeated groan. 

"Grandine's going to kill us," Luvy mumbles, wincing as she thinks of all the horrible punishments that her future no doubt holds. 

"Uh... Who are you?" Romeo asks Juvia, looking more confused than ever. 

"Hello." Juvia gives him a wan smile. "Juvia is thankful to you for letting her friends stay here last night." 

Lucy watches Romeo carefully. She knows from previous experience that whenever Juvia introduces herself, people always react negatively to her way of talking. And Lucy _hates_ that; not only is it rude, but it's unnecessary as well. But to her surprise, Romeo doesn't react to it at all. "Nice to meet you," he says pleasantly, albeit a little stiffly. "Anyway, Juvia — how do they know where this place even is?" 

Juvia shakes her head as if she was expecting the question. "Juvia asked the same thing. Grandine was on her way here already — it's just freaky coincidence that _we_ ended up here, too. Apparently, she knows someone called Maracob?" 

For the first time, Romeo smiles — actually, he laughs, and even though it's a quiet sort of chuckle, Lucy finds herself fighting the urge to get up and squeeze him in a hug. Who'd have thought he'd be so _adorable_ when he smiled!? 

He gestures for Juvia to sit down. "Not Maracob, _Makarov_. Ma-ka-rov." 

"Sorry," Lucy butts in, "but _who's_ Marakov?" The name's familiar but I can't place it... 

He shakes his head again, the soft smile still playing on his lips. "Ma-ka-rov. It's Russian, I think? He's the mast— Uh, the, uh, landlord here," he corrects himself. "He was just in here a second ago." 

"Wait, what?" She stares at him incredulously. So _that's_ who Natsu had been talking about? "That tiny guy!? Are you kidding!?" 

Romeo snorts. "Nope, that's him. This Grandine chick knows him, huh?" 

Levy nods and brushes a few stray strands of her blue hair from her face. "That's what she said on the phone, right?" 

Juvia — who is once again sitting beside Gray — nods, her chin resting in her hand. "That's all she said before hanging up on Juvia." She closes her eyes, frowning. "She sounded angry." 

"Is that a bad thing?" Romeo asks. "I mean, is she scary like Wendy or...?" 

Lucy laughs nervously. "Wendy's not scary, she's actually a total sweetheart. Just... Just don't get her anxious, and you'll be fine. But trust me when I say you _never_ want to meet Porlyusica Grandine when she's in a bad mood." 

Romeo reacts to the words a bit more dramatically than she'd expected — he physically pales, his eyes widening again. "P-Porlyusica?" 

Juvia grimaces, not questioning Romeo's interest. "Yes." 

"Why?" Lucy's ask, taken aback by his alarmed tone. "Do you know her?" 

He answers the question with another question. "Pink hair Porlyusica?" 

Juvia nods mutely in reply; she then rests her head on the table as if she's got a headache. "She's _really_ angry." 

Romeo gulps nervously. 

"Romeo," Lucy whines, "how do you know her? Don't just ignore me!" 

"Ah, um, she—" he mumbles brokenly. "She takes care of the master's health. That'll be why she was on her way here already, huh? I can't remember a Monday when she wasn't around." 

From beside her, she hear Gray moan, "I still have the bump from last week when she hit me with that damn broom." He rubs his head gently. "She's got some strange medicinal practises, huh?" 

Everyone around the granite table grimaces as they remember some past injury Grandine's given them — even Romeo, Lucy's mournful to note. 

them — even Romeo, Lucy's mournful to note. 

"Juvia, "Lucy says, "did she say how far away she was? Is she bringing Wendy?" 

No sooner has she finished her sentence does the door fly open to reveal the tiny old man — Makarov — with a tall, severe-looking woman standing behind him. Pink hair — which is tied back with two crescent styled pins in an immaculate bun, excusing the choppy hair that frames her face — down to her practical brown shoes — immaculately polished and as pointy as ever — and it's impossible to mistake who she is. 

Grandine is here. 

She doesn't hesitate to storm into the room. Her fury is palpable — her stomping could cause an earthquake, her glare could curdle dairy. She goes straight for the unfortunate soul closest to the door, who, in this instance, happens to be Levy. 

The poor girl shrinks into her seat as the pink-haired woman comes to loom over her hunched figure. Grandine's statement cape, a crimson affair with horns adorning the collar, billows behind her in a breeze that she seems to have created with her entrance. 

She leans in close to Levy, who is clearly fighting to hold back a whimper. She cowers away as Grandine comes to face level with her. She opens her mouth and says in a cool voice crackling with anger, "How _dare_ you make me come here." 

Levy squeaks. 

Lucy would swear she sees actual live sparks fly from Grandine's eyes as her gaze slips to Juvia. "No apology?" 

Juvia stammers, "J-Juvia is sorry..." 

The aged woman's maroon eyes find Jellal. "Explain." 

He clears his throat in an attempt to seem put-together. "W-Well, we— You see, last night, uh... Pantherlily kind of... died." He coughs. "...Again." 

Grandine's temple twitches as she hears the news. 

Lucy cringes, knowing what's coming next, and unsurprisingly, not two seconds later, she explodes. 

"Beds empty! No note! _Car gone_! You stupid, stuipd children! I say time and again — don't I say it? — I say _time and time_ again to get that damn car replaced, but do you listen to me!?" Her icy stare finds Jellal. " _No_! You make me come all the way out here — to _Magnolia_ ," she yells, turning to a wide-eyed Juvia, "to pick up you up; do you know how expensive it is to drive here from Hargeon? Oh, _no_ , of _course_ you don't, because _I'm_ the one who's paying every time you lot decide that it's a good idea to take a trip in that rust-bucket!" All of a sudden, she whips round and focuses on Levy, pointing a warning finger right in front of the blunette's face. "You _know_ how irritating people are! How dare you make me come all the way out here! _Why_ I decided to take you lot in, I don't know — there should be a plaque on my grave with just 'blame the Loxars' written on it. You're gonna lead me to an early grave, I'm telling you now. All this exposure to humans, it's going to be the death of me — and _you three_ are to blame! You're the worst of the lot, you are, you stupid, _stupid_ children! You remind me every day why I hate humans so much; such a race of simpletons, so reckless and selfish..." Taking a second to catch her breath, Grandine closes her eyes and sighs before snapping her eyes open and hissing, " _Do you have any idea how worried I was!?_ You didn't even think to _call_!" 

She finishes her lecture with an anguished sigh, pretty much collapsing into the stool that Erza had vacated. "For all I'd known, you could have _died_ last night," she mumbles into her palm. _"Please,_ you imbecilic little brats, _learn to think."_

Lucy would like nothing more than for a hole to open up in the ground and just swallow her up. 

Right now, the guilt could kill her, and she's not even _her_ surrogate mother. One glance at the self- disgust on the faces of Levy, Jellal and Juvia is enough to see that they're kicking themselves right now. Even Gray looks like he feels a little sick. 

A quiet _'achem'_ from somewhere near my right arm causes me to look down; Master Makarov clears his throat politely, looking very interested in his hands. 

"Um..." Lucy's clueless as to what he wants her to do, but Romeo obviously understands. Without hesitation, he hops off his seat and holds out a hand to the tiny man. Makarov grasps it and uses it as leverage to _clamber_ onto the stool. In any other situation she would have giggled, but the awful remorse Grandine's lecture created is still fresh. 

"Not to change the subject or anything," Makarov says loudly, capturing everyone's attention, "but which one of you is Lucy?" 

Lucy starts. "Me?" 

His smiling dark eyes find hers. "The other girl is just getting some stuff from the car for you. She said she wanted to get all of your medicines." 

Lucy's eyes widen in shock. _What's Wendy thinking!?_ "N-No, no, no, it— She— You've got it wrong, I don't— I'm fine, I don't— I—..." Romeo and Makarov watch her with a wondering expression. She glimpses Gray scowling in her peripheral vision. "I'm fine, damn it! I don't _need_ any medicine! She— Hold on, I'll go stop her, she— Damn it, Wendy!" 

Without a second thought, Lucy jumps out the chair and makes to leave the room. However, before she's even halfway across the kitchen, Wendy herself rushes through the door. 

Well, more like trips into it. 

She lands on the floor with a muffled _'oof'_ and they all stare as she lays there for a moment. Her dark blue hair — up in the usual bunches and tied with two white ribbons to match her summer dress — is splayed around her head, the contents of the bags she'd brought with her scattered across the floor. Lucy can see first aid kits, bandages, boxes of medicine and who knows what else; it's like the girl's a mini portable hospital. 

"Oh, really." Grandine rolls her eyes, still mumbling into her hand. "The lot of you are _hopeless."_

Wendy raises her face slowly, her eyes squeezed shut and her expression sheepish behind pink cheeks. Her long hair swishes around her waist as she kneels and scrambles to stuff everything back into the plastic bags. Romeo eagerly gets on his knees to help her. 

"Ah, um, thank you," she mumbles, not making eye contact with him as he hands her a couple stacks of eye-drop boxes. He sits back in his stool wordlessly, his eyes glued to her face. 

Wendy gets up and glances at her siblings anxiously. Once her gaze finds Lucy's, she jolts forward, her brown eyes wide and worried. "Lucy! Are you alright? Who hurt you? I'll avenge you, just you tell me!" She shakes her head vehemently, her cute bunches swinging around her head and completely negating the effect of her fierce words. 

Lucy laughs nervously, reaching out to tuck a stray strand of blue hair behind her ear. "Don't worry about it, Wendy..." 

Romeo suddenly shouts, _"Wendy!?"_ Both girls jump and stare at him. He's seemingly transfixed by the youngest Loxar. " _You're_ Wendy!?" 

She nods timidly, her eyes wide and confused. "Umm... Hello..." she mumbles, her previous gusto disappearing as she shuffles her feet to subtly shield half of her body behind Lucy's. "How do you... know me?" 

Romeo just watches her with round eyes, his mouth hanging open and a noticeable pink rising up his cheeks. "I, uh—..." He blinks at her again. "I thought you'd be... a little less... different..." He visibly gulps, his gaze wide and unwavering. 

"I-I'm sorry!" Wendy apologises hastily, bowing. 

Lucy cocks an eyebrow. _What's she even apologising for?_

Romeo ignores her, instead turning to Gray. "You said she was supposed to be like a hurricane!" 

Gray shrugs, bemused. "I did, didn't I? Maybe a _meek_ hurricane. A soft hurricane. A summer breeze with anxiety." 

Wendy adopts an expression of horror as Romeo stammers, "S-Summer breeze..." 

"I-I'm not meek! I'm strong! I'm— I'm... I'm..." she trails off, not sure what she wants to say as she wrings her hands uncomfortably. 

"Wendy, do you want to take a look at Lucy?" Jellal intervenes kindly, breaking what could have become a very awkward silence. He's very over-protective of Wendy — Lucy's not surprised he wouldn't want to see her squirm. 

Well, would anyone? Her adorable innocence has left even the worst personalities at her mercy. 

"Yes!" she says straight away, her nervous expression falling away to be replaced with a grin directed at her brother. "Lucy, I brought all of your medicines!" 

Before she can argue — because never has she used eye-drops in her _life_ — Gray gets up and grabs her arm. "Come on, Wendy," he urges the younger girl, starting to drag Lucy from the kitchen. "You can check her over in the bedroom." 

"Gray!" Lucy starts pulling against his grip. "I really don't need-" Without hesitation, Wendy starts helping Gray push her towards the door. "Guys, seriously, I'm fine! Stop, wait!" Lucy struggles against them but with Wendy pushing and Gray pulling, she can't do really do anything but complain loudly as they drag her out into the hall. 

Out of the corner of my eye, she spy Makarov and the Loxars watching with amused expressions. Grandine still seems to be sulking and a heavily blushing Romeo is staring in their direction — or more accurately, at _Wendy_ — with his mouth hanging open, his eyes glazes over, and his expression flustered. 

Just before Lucy's out the door, she hears Jellal murmur to Romeo, "Shut your mouth, you'll catch flies." 

Any ensuing thoughts from the realisation of growing puppy love is halted by Wendy and Gray shoving Lucy onto a bed. Looking around, she realises they've dragged her back into Natsu's 

bedroom. 

Wendy stands over her, posture intimidating. Her usual sweetness is replaced with a fiery determination, and in her mind, Lucy can see her resorting to extreme measures to ensure a 'full recovery'. She flips her dark blue bangs out her face impatiently as she watches, eyes steely. "I have to check your head and heart," she explains sternly as she tightens one of the white ribbons in her hair. "Please sit still, Lucy. This won't take long." 

In that split second, Lucy switches from rejoicing for Romeo's new found crush to pitying him. 

Poor confused kid — he has no idea what he's getting himself into.


	9. Holy Heartfilia

_we got holes in our hearts and we got holes in our lives,  
but we carry on — yes, we carry on _

Gray's facing the opposite wall to keep Lucy's dignity intact, but he refused to leave so it doesn't really make a difference. 

The tension in the room is palpable and suffocating. 

The metal plate of the stethoscope is shocking; every time Wendy moves it along her chest, Lucy flinches. Wendy kindly pretends not to notice, her focus directed on whether or not the heart is behaving how it should. She's already checked Lucy's head – it turns out there wasn't even a concussion. Just like Lucy had expected. 

"All done," she says eventually, interrupting the silence in the room. "You can put your shirt back on, Lucy," she says, turning and folding the stethoscope back into the case lying beside Lucy on the bed. 

She starts to button up her shirt with a scowl. "That was entirely unnecessary, Wendy." 

"No, Lucy!" Wendy turns to me with a beseeching expression, her bunches whipping in the air, while Gray – who's sitting at the foot of the bed, undoubtedly sulking – just scoffs. She insists, "Its good practice to check up regularly-" 

"Not after I just _trip."_

She shakes her head, frowning. "I know, but... You can never be too careful about these sorts of things." 

"Too careful?" It's Lucy's turn to scoff. "So I was knocked out after hitting my head – what's the big deal? You didn't have to bring all this stuff and you know it." 

"It's best to be prepared," she says quietly. 

Lucy shakes her head, not letting her get away with it that easily. "Maybe straight after an operation, yeah, but Wendy, the transplant was _years_ ago." 

"But Lucy, you're still recovering from the complications, aren't you?" She bites her lip worriedly. "Your fainting and stuff—" 

"—is something _I_ deal with!" Lucy glares at her, suddenly feeling furious. "You can't keep fussing over me, Wendy. You're not my doctor or— or my _mother_ — it's not up to you to take care of me." 

"Yes, it is!" Unexpectedly, Wendy doesn't back down; instead, she adopts a fierce stance, her chocolate eyes steely once again. "As your friend, it's _always_ my job to take care of you. If I can — I don't know, if I can lessen the risks of you having any more heart attacks, then I don't care how much of a bother it is, Lucy! I want to help!" 

Lucy's eyes widen as she falters, taken aback. "W-Well, you don't _have_ to. There's nothing wrong with me anymore—" 

"Hardly," Gray butts in before Wendy can answer. 

They both turn to stare at him. He's gotten up from his perch on the bed and is now standing with his arms crossed, scrutinising Lucy. "Heart transplants are no walk in the park, Lucy. Wendy's been here from the beginning — she _knows_ about all the complications. The spasms, the attacks, the fainting, the fact that you can't put any strain on your body—" 

"I can put as much strain on my body as I want to!" she cuts him off, fuming. "Who are you to say what I can and can't do?" 

"Your brother!" Gray hisses. "Excuse _me_ for actually having some sense and knowing that if you aren't able—" 

"I'm very _able—"_ she interrupts angrily, trying to keep my voice hushed for the sake of privacy. "I can do whatever anyone else can." 

"What able person faints after bumping their head!?" 

Her eyes widen in surprise. "I hit my head on the road! Hard! _Twice_!" 

"This isn't about that though, Lucy! This is about you being too _childish_ to accept that there are some things you can't do and that you need to be taken care of—" 

"What!?" Lucy's voice rises. "How dare you!? I'm not the one being childish here — _you_ don't know how to let things go!" 

Gray's words are heated and loud, his eyes dangerous. "Fine then, I'm childish! I don't care what you say, Lucy, you and I both know the seriousness of your condition. You may have gotten away without a scratch this time, but who knows, maybe the next time you aren't careful, or maybe when you run just a little too hard, you're _going_ to have another heart attack! Stop making it so hard to monitor you, will you!?" 

"There's a difference between monitoring and trampling, Gray," I snap, my tone deadly. "You're not helping me recover; you're just making sure I don't _need_ to." 

He chokes on his words, before exploding, "So what!? That's better than letting you d—!" 

He cuts off abruptly, paling as he catches himself. 

Lucy stares at him, suddenly feeling close to tears. "Letting me... what?" Her voice shakes. "Oh, please, don't stop there. Go on. Letting me... what?" The next word's like a bullet to her chest. "Die?" 

He flinches when she says it, his gaze glued to ground, staring at something Lucy can't see. 

"Um, guys?" Both of them whip round to look at Wendy, who tries not to cower under their dark stares. "You... You're really loud," she says quietly, her gaze falling to the floor. Her words bring Lucy's awareness to the tense atmosphere in the room. Even the sounds from across the hall have stopped; no doubt those in the kitchen heard us. 

A knock on the door interrupts the silence and makes all three of them jump. Gray blinks, seeming to snap out of his daze, and goes to open the door. It swings open to reveal none other than... _Natsu?_ "Uh..." he says uncomfortably, his hand awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "I don't mean to interrupt or anything." 

Gray, who tensed as soon as he saw the pink-haired teen, shakes his head stiffly. "You weren't. What do you want?" 

Natsu takes in the atmosphere in the room, his troubled gaze landing on Lucy. "I just came for Lucy. Master suggested we give you guys a tour while Gajeel fixes your truck..." He pauses, glancing at Wendy, who's staring at Natsu with round, frightened eyes. He hastily adds, "But I can come back later, you know, if you're busy or—" 

"We were just finishing," Gray says icily. "Let's go, Wendy." He brushes past Natsu as he leaves the room. Wendy squeaks out a, "Yes," and follows him, carefully edging out the door so as not to bump into the boy standing in the doorway. Once they leave, Natsu steps inside. The door swings shut behind him. 

There's an awkward silence and neither of them seems to really know what to say. It only takes a moment to get to the point where Lucy can't take it. 

"You said you were looking for me?" she asks hesitantly, not quite meeting his gaze. Her voice is too high-pitched, a telltale sign of the raging emotions inside me. 

"Yeah," he nods slowly. "Thought I'd show you around Fairy Tail. You seemed interested." 

She lets out an unconvincing laugh, her hands coming up to wrap around her elbows as she hugs myself. "Yeah, I was, wasn't I? Shall we— shall we go?" 

Natsu walks forward slowly, biting the inside of his cheek as he watches with worried eyes. "Sure. Maybe we should wait a while, though." 

"Hmm? Why?" She finally meets his gaze, attempting and failing to smile at him. All she can come up with is some half-hearted grimace. 

His eyes narrow – she haven't seen him wear such a serious expression before. He looks much... older. Natsu watches her with careful eyes, his next words a little strained. "You're crying, Lucy." 

"W-What?" She raise a hand to my face, and he's right. Her cheeks are wet. "Sorry, I-I had no idea, I—" She sits back down on the bed, trying to stop the tears that suddenly won't stop escaping from her eyes. Now that she's aware of it, Lucy can't _stop_ crying. Embarrassed and confused, she turns away from him. "I don't know why, I'm sorry, it—" 

"Don't worry about it," Natsu murmurs. The bed dips as he sits down beside her. "Take your time." 

"No, I don't— I'm fine, really," she insists, hiding her face behind her hands. "I don't know why..." A sudden sob cuts her off and she gulps, trying her best to _stop_ already. "S-Sorry," she mumbles into her palms. 

"You apologise too much." His voice is quiet, his tone gentle. 

_Just look at yourself, Lucy. You're making an absolute fool of yourself. He's still a stranger at best and you're just sitting on his bed crying for no reason._ "I'm pathetic," she whispers into her hands shakily, already hiccupping. 

"No, no, Lucy, you're not." There's a sudden pressure on her back. His hand, warm and comforting, strokes her gently between her shoulder blades. "I heard you and your brother arguing from outside. That's... That's deep stuff. You don't have to make excuses. I can see why you're so..." He searches for the right word. "Emotional?" 

A sudden bitter laugh leaves her lips. "Right. Emotional," Lucy snorts, taking a deep breath and trying to control her breathing. "Thanks, Natsu." He doesn't answer, just continues the circular motions of his hand against her back. Slowly but surely, she begins to relax under his silent reassurance. Eventually, she manages to raise her face from her hands. Wiping the tears away with her wrists, she sniffs and gives Natsu a watery smile. 

His expression is slightly amused. "Better?" 

She nods mutely. 

"You wanna... talk about it?" he asks hesitantly. She can see curiosity burning behind his cautious expression. 

Lucy clears her throat, take a deep breath and blinking away the last remaining tears. Keeping her eyes on the door so as not to look him, she asks, "What do you want to know?" 

He didn't expect her to say that. Running a hand through his unusual spiky hair, he lets out a nervous chuckle. "I don't know, uh... Do you and Gray do that often?" 

"Do what?" 

"You know... Argue. About... _that,"_ he says slowly, seeming unsure of his own words. His eyes are narrowed in confusion, apparently with himself. 

Lucy can't help but tease him about it. _"That?_ It's not a bad word, Natsu," she giggles. He grins sheepishly. "Um, but yeah, we... We can't really talk about it without getting into a fight." She purses her lips and looks back at the wall. "That's why we don't really talk about it often. It's really unusual for Gray to act like that." 

"That makes sense," he agrees. His next question catches her off guard. "Why do you fight?" 

He asks it so easily, like it's a simple question. "Ah..." Lucy sighs, bringing a hand up to rest my chin on my elbow. "It's complicated. I... don't really know where to begin with it." 

"From the beginning?" he suggests innocently. When she turns to see if he's joking, he meets her sceptical gaze with his own encouraging one. 

"O-Okay," Lucy starts falteringly. "Gosh, um... Okay." She takes a deep breath and turns to him. "So when I was a kid, I was _really_ sick. Like, I couldn't leave the house, my mother had to take me to the hospital at _least_ twice a month, I would collapse and faint and sometimes have like, fits, you know?" 

He nods wordlessly. 

"And the doctors weren't really sure why. It... I don't know, they just didn't really find anything wrong with me."

"But they figured it out in the end, right?" Natsu asks. His charcoal eyes are narrowed in concentration as he tries to envision this in his head. Lucy doesn't know if the sight makes her want to laugh or cuddle him. Kind of both.

"Yeah," she agrees. "When I was around six or seven, they did a CAT scan and figured out that I, uh... basically, had a couple holes in my heart."

He leans back with an alarmed expression. "Shit! Really?"

She nods, biting her lip. "To put it really simply, yeah."

"So what happened?" he demands, eyes wide. "They can fix that, can't they?"

This time she _does_ laugh, loudly. "No, idiot, they can't fix a hole in your heart! Stupid." She giggles, turning her face into her palm. "What, they'll stitch you up and abracadabra, you're good to go? It doesn't work like that!"

"Hey, it's plausible," he defends himself good-naturedly. "So what _did_ they do?"

Lucy calms down, shaking her head in amusement. "Natsu, don't be silly. They couldn't _do_ anything."

This makes him reel. His eyes get wider and wider as he stares at her. "So you... You still..." His gaze then jumps from Lucy's face to her chest. Her eyes widen and she blushes — _he's staring right at my—..._ "H-Hey!" She instinctively slaps him upside the head, using her other arm to cover her chest. "Natsu!"

 _"What?"_ He looks up at her, rubbing the back of his head with a pout. "What did you hit me for!?" He then takes in her pose – she's sitting leaning away from him, face pink and arms crossed over her chest. "I-I wasn't— ah, sorry!" He falters, managing to look both abashed and defiant. "I wasn't... I just, the hole... Nevermind. My bad, go on," he says finally, gesturing with his hand to continue. "What then?"

Despite herself, Lucy laugh. "Idiot." Her hands lower to rest in her lap again and she continues while trying to fight back a tiny smile. "Well, my parents made sure to shelter me – I didn't go to school with Gray or anything, I didn't really leave the house unless it was to go the hospital. I couldn't over-exert myself; my parents didn't want to take any risks."

Natsu's expression switches from resigned to a mixture of pity and alarm. "You stayed in the house? All the time?"

She nods wordlessly.

"But you were just a child! If you didn't go to school or anything, how..." He glances over, looking guilty. "You must have been one hell of a lonely kid."

Her eyebrows rise in surprise. "It _was_ lonely, but..." She pauses, trying to think of the silver lining. "Yeah, I wasn't very happy," she eventually concedes with a quiet laugh. "But I mean, it was either that or dying, so easy choice, right?"

"Shit," he breathes out. "That must have _sucked._ How old were you?"

She shrugs. "That went on from when I was six to, um..." She tries to do the numbers in her head but it's hopeless. "To when my mother died. April 2004, so I must have been... what, eight? Nearly nine."

Natsu's eyes couldn't get any wider if they tried. He doesn't say anything but the information changes the atmosphere around him; all of a sudden, he looks guilty. However, he stays silent and she takes it as a mute invitation to carry on.

"She was an organ donor. To be blunt about it, when she died, my dad pulled some strings and I—... I got her heart." Lucy pauses. Her hands are fisting the material of the jeans she borrowed from Erza, the knuckles seeming pale and weak. Fragile. _Breakable._ She takes a deep (slightly shaky) breath. "You know, it's weird. Apart from the Loxars, I haven't actually told anyone that. That I got my mother's heart, I mean." She glances at Natsu; his gaze is fixed on the opposite wall, his expression unreadable.

"Natsu?" she asks quietly. "You okay?"

He snaps out of it and looks at her, surprised. "Me? Are _you_ okay? I'm fine." He laughs. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I'm okay," she smiles at him. "I thought it would be painful to talk about my mother to someone other than family but... It's nice." She glances down at her entangled fingers. "She was a really great woman."

"It's cool that you got her heart," Natsu says suddenly, leaning towards her. "There's always a part of her with you."

Lucy nods, her smile widening. "That's how I like to see it."

"Heart transplant though..." He trails off, looking lost in thought. "Must have been a lot for a nine year old kid to take on. And straight after your mother dying, too..."

"We got through it.". Seemingly on its own accord, her hand leaves her lap and goes to rest over the one he has on his knee. He jumps slightly, which makes her jump and snatch the hand back instantly. "S-Sorry," she stammers, eyes round.

"No, no, it's— it's fine!" Natsu insists, his voice too loud. He clears his throat with a chuckle.

"Took me by surprise, that's all. Anyway, uh, this transplant thing... Did it go smoothly? Like... were there any side effects I should be aware of?"

"Well," Lucy say slowly, deciding to take advantage of the lighter atmosphere in the room, "Once a month or so, I'll have a heart spasm and go into cardiac arrest. If that happens, just hold me upside down for a couple minutes so all the blood goes to my head. That should solve it."

He rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Right," he acknowledges without hesitation. "Anything else?"

She stares at him. "Natsu, I was joking!"

"Wait, what?" He glances over. "Seriously?"

She laugh at his astounded expression, hitting him across his bicep. "Yes! Idiot! Cardiac arrest is a heart attack — you'd have to go to hospital for that!"

"R-Right!" he corrects himself, looking unsure. "Course it is."

She shakes her head. "Your general knowledge sucks."

"Yeah, I know, but my _specific_ knowledge is _excellent,"_ he shoots back with a smirk, raising his index finger as if to make a point.

"That doesn't even make sense!" She giggles.

"To you, maybe it doesn't, but to _me_ -"

"Just stop, Natsu," Lucy cuts him off, raising her hands in mock-defeat. "Do you wanna give me that tour now? All this talk of operations and heart attacks, its pretty depressing stuff, and—"

"Hell yes," he says quickly, standing up and glancing back at her. "By the way, everyone else has already left, you know. We were supposed to follow on right behind them."

Lucy's jaw slackens. _"What!?_ And you didn't tell me!? They could all be waiting for us! You idiot, Natsu!" She rushes past him into the hall, grabbing his arm as she passes and dragging him along. "We have to go, come on!"

His laughter echoes in her ears as she pulls him to the door. "Jeez, Lucy. You're emotions are all over the place – one minute your angry, the next you're crying, then you're laughing and _now_ _you're—"_

"—going to kill you if you don't hurry it up," she threatens him, pushing him out the room and following behind. "You said we were going to go downstairs, right? Natsu?"

Lucy glances up at him when he doesn't answer. He's looking at someone standing in the hall right in front of the door to the joint kitchen and living room. Said person – Gray – meets her gaze guiltily. Her eyes widen before settling into a glower. _Was he listening!?_

"I'll wait for you outside, Natsu," Lucy says quietly, walking down the hallway towards the front door of the apartment. "Don't take too long." Pushing past Gray, she opens the door and quickly slams it shut behind her. She does _not_ want to talk to him right now.

The corridor is unremarkable in that it's just like any other apartment complex hallway. However, if there would be one unusual thing about it, it would be that it looks a lot more _personalised_ than it should be.

There are pictures all along the wall, all of people — the one closest to me hangs right across the hall beside Erza's apartment door. It's of five kids at the beach; three have unusual white hair – two girls, one boy – all surrounding a red-haired girl of around the same age. With a start, Lucy realises its Erza.

On the ground in front of the four of them lies a boy with an unmistakable mess of pink spiky hair. _Natsu._ He's grinning his signature wide smile, head resting on elbow as he lays sprawled along the sand. Everyone's dressed only in their swimming suits except for Natsu, who's also wearing a black-and-white scale-patterned scarf around his neck.

A smile finds its way to her lips at the sight of them. In the bottom left hand corner is written "Summer 2005" in messy handwriting.

She supposes the inhabitants of Fairy Tail are all familiar with each other – from the looks of this picture, they look almost like a happy family, even if they're not related by blood.

The thought freezes her in her tracks. _A family..._

Shaking her head, she looks away from the picture and lean against the door to Natsu's apartment. _Now is not the time to sorry for yourself, Lucy._

"Well, now that she's gone, are you gonna go too?" The voice is muffled but unmistakably familiar. She starts when she hears Natsu's voice through the thin door. She shouldn't... Oh, but she wants to...

"Actually, I came to talk to you." Gray's voice sounds clearer – probably because he's standing closer to the door. Wait, he came to talk to Natsu? Lucy can't help herself; the curiosity is too much. She turns and rests her ear against the door.

"Me? What do you want with me?" Natsu sounds surprised.

"I'll get straight to the point," Gray deadpans. "Lucy was lying. She's still sick." She scowls instantly. How dare he? "She faints," he continues, "if she over-exerts herself. She may have a heart attack if it gets to be too much – if that happens, she'll have to be hospitalised again. Three years ago, her heart stopped beating altogether because of one." He sounds like he's already prepared this lecture beforehand; his voice sounds tired. "To stop that from happening, you have to make _sure_ she's careful. She's stubborn, she doesn't listen to me at all, but you have to make _sure_ you take care of her."

There's a silence following his words. Lucy strains to hear but it sounds like no-one's saying anything. Eventually, she hears Natsu say, "You stayed back to tell me that?"

Gray makes an irritated noise. "Were you even listening? Don't let her run, don't let her carry heavy loads, stuff like that. If she looks a little pale, sit her down – she'll protest but just—"

"Ignore her?" Natsu's being sarcastic.

"If you need to, then yes. She doesn't know her limits yet."

"And when do you think she'll learn them?" She hears Natsu bark out a strange-sounding laugh.

"Look, if I think she's in any danger, I'll take care of it. I don't need you to tell me that."

She expects Gray to get angry – Natsu really seems to get on his nerves as it is – but instead of getting riled up, he says coldly, "I didn't talk to you because I have fun doing it, moron. As long as  
you're aware that my _little sister_ is sicker than she makes out to be, _fine."_

"Got it," Natsu says in a similar clipped tone. "We done?"

"Get lost," Gray snaps back. "I gotta use the toilet anyway. Don't wait for me."

"Wasn't gonna."

All of a sudden, the door is yanked open – Lucy falls forward with a yelp, losing her balance. Looking up, all she sees is a disgruntled Natsu looming over her. She grins uneasily. "Hi?"

He raises an eyebrow. "Eavesdropping?"

She laughs guiltily, raising a hand to the back of her head and then wincing from the pain the pressure causes. "Uh... _no..."_

He shakes his head exasperatedly, but she don't miss the upturned corner of his lips. "You're unbelievable."

He steps through the doorway and she jumps back. "Maybe it's a family trait?" she suggests, expression apologetic.

He laughs at that. "Could be. You Heartfilias, you're hopeless."

"Actually," Lucy corrects him, "Gray's second name is Fullbuster. He changed it years ago."

"Really?" Natsu turns to me with a surprised expression. "So it's Gray Fullbuster? Why'd he change it?"

"Uh..." She shrugs uncomfortably. "Maybe you should ask him."

He shakes his head straight away. "No way. I don't care enough to ask that asshole."

She snorts but doesn't say anything, again glancing down the unfamiliar corridor. There are pictures running down the entire length of the walls – at least, where the doors don't interrupt them.

"Hey, you know what I just realised?" he asks me as he shuts the door behind him.

"What?" she asks, turning to look at him. He catches her eye with a devilish grin.

"You should be a nun."

"Huh?" Lucy stares at him. "What are you talking about?"

Like he's telling the punchline of a joke, he says, "Holy Heartfilia. _Heart_ filia. Like holey heart. Get it? "

Her jaw drops as he proceeds to burst into loud laughter, saying 'holey' over and over between chuckles.

"That... That's not even _funny,_ Natsu. It's just stupid!" She rolls her eyes as he doubles up from the force of his mirth. Leaning down, she takes hold of his wrist and tugs as she turns and starts to walk down the corridor. "You're so weird."

"Lucy?"

She turns back and see that adorably wide grin again. "What is it, Natsu?" Lucy sighs, trying to feign annoyance – maybe then he'll get the message that his jokes _suck._

His grin widens. "The stairs are—" he points in the opposite direction of the way she's going _"—that_ way."

She glances behind herself, blinking stupidly. "I-I knew that," Lucy snap, ignoring her embarrassment and turning on the spot. He just laughs and lets her lead him down the hall.

Time to see what exactly 'Fairy Tail' has to offer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *IMPORTANT: When a surgical transplant is performed, the organ transplanted must be the same size as that of the original (aka it's weird for a child to get an adult's heart).   
> Just in case you didn't know (and your general knowledge is as bad as Natsu's).


End file.
